Kornél Mundruczó

Kornél Mundruczó (; born 3 April 1975) is a Hungarian filmmaker and theatre director, most known for his films about contemporary Hungary.

White God (2014), won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, while Delta (2008) Tender Son: The Frankenstein Project (2010) and Jupiter's Moon (2017) were nominated for the Palme d'Or.

He made his English-language debut with Pieces of a Woman (2020), which was nominated for the Golden Lion.

Early life Mundruczó earned a diploma from Hungary's Academy of Film and Drama in 1998 as an actor, then in 2003 as a film and television director. In that same year, he founded Proton Cinema Ltd., dedicated to film production, along with Viktória Petrányi, a constant co-creator and collaborator in his work and writing since the academy.

Career Theatre Mundruczó has worked in theatre and opera since 2003, first in Hungary and then in theatres abroad such as the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, the TR Warszawa, the Schauspielhaus Zürich and the Vlaamse Opera. He is most keen to begin new projects where he finds the subject, collaborators and venue inspiring. During the creative process, he strives to create a team. For new projects, he very often casts the same actors, who work with him as creative partners. After freelancing with more or less the same group of people for several years, in 2009, he founded Proton Theatre, his independent theatre company, with producer Dóra Büki.

Proton Theatre is a virtual artistic company organised around the director's independent productions. Besides preserving maximum artistic freedom, their goal is to ensure a professional structure for their independently produced theatre plays and projects. Chiefly, their performances are realized as international co-productions, and their frequent collaborators include the Wiener Festwochen, HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin, Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, Trafó House of Contemporary Arts in Budapest and Hellerau in Dresden. Productions directed by the artistic leader include The Ice (2006); Frankenstein-project (2007), which inspired his later film Tender Son; Hard to be a God (2010); Disgrace (2012), based on the post-apartheid novel by Nobel Prize-winner J. M. Coetzee and, in turn, inspiring his film White God; Dementia (2014), Winterreise (2015), Imitation of Life (2016), The Raft of the Medusa (2018), Evolution (2019) inspiring his film with the same title, The Seven Deadly Sins/Motherland (2020) and Parallax. In addition, Proton wishes to provide space for the realisation of company members’ ideas. In this spirit, they created the following performances: Last (2014), directed by Roland Rába; 1 link (2015), directed by Gergely Bánki and Finding Quincy by János Szemenyei.

Proton's performances have toured to more than 130 festivals until 2024, including the Festival d’Avignon, the Adelaide Festival, the Singapore International Festival, the Seoul Bo:m Festival, and the Zürcher Theater Spektakel.

In 2017, for Imitation of life, Mundruczó was nominated for the Faust Award. It was the first time in the history of this award that a non-German theatre, in this case a Hungarian independent company was nominated. In the same year Mundruczó has been nominated for the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities of the Europe Theatre Prize.

In 2024 Mundruczó won the Nestroy Theatre Prize for Best Director for Parallax by Proton Theatre. It was the first time not only a Hungarian director was awarded, but also for a Hungarian production.

Film Mundruczó's first full-length feature This I wish and nothing more won, among other prizes, the award for best first film at the 31st Hungarian Film Week, as well as its Students’ Jury and Directors’ Guild Awards. He directed his short film Afta shortly after leaving school. It went on to win numerous international awards. Pleasant Days, his second feature film, was awarded the Silver Leopard in Locarno in 2002. In 2003, he won the Cinéfondation Program's artistic grant, within the framework of the Cannes International Film Festival, where he developed the screenplay of the film Delta, together with Yvette Bíró in Paris.

He has been a member of the European Film Academy since 2004. In 2005, he won the Nipkow Program's artistic grant to participate for three months in courses and consultations for talented screenwriters and directors in Berlin. His fourth, fifth, and seventh feature-length films were entered in the official competition of Cannes Film Festival: Delta in 2008, Tender Son in 2010 and Jupiter's Moon in 2017. The first won the FIPRESCI Award.

In 2014, his film, White God – which was invited to Cannes Film Festival and made with the support of Eurimages, the European Council's film foundation and the Hungarian National Film Foundation – won the main prize of the Un Certain Regard program at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. Also, the film's canine star won the Palm Dog Award for best performance by a dog. It was screened in the Spotlight section of Sundance Film Festival in 2015.

His first English-language feature, Pieces of a Woman (2020), had its world premiere at the main competition of the 77th Venice International Film Festival, where Vanessa Kirby won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her lead performance in the movie. Later she even received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role. thumb

In 2021, his film Evolution premiered in the Cannes Premiere section of 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Loosely based on his wife, Kata Wéber, family experiences as Holocaust survivors, it follows three generations of a Hungarian Jewish family marked by the World War II.

After a five-year hiatus, Mundruczó returned with his second English-language feature film At the Sea (2026), starring Amy Adams. The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Bear.

He followed with Place to Be (also 2026), starring Ellen Burstyn and Taika Waititi. The film will have its world out of competition of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.

Personal life Mundruczó is married to Kata Wéber, whom he met when she was an actress at university around the year 2000. They have experienced a miscarriage, which inspired the film Pieces of a Woman. They did not talk about the loss until making the play. They have a daughter.

Filmography

Feature film

Short film Konrad Swinarski Award for the best director of the 2018/2019 season Best performance – Boska Comedia Theatre Festival 2019. Krakow, Poland 2018 The Raft of the Medusa Ruhrtriennale, Bochum, Germany; Proton Theatre, Budapest, Hungary 2017 The Weavers Thalia Theatre Hamburg, Germany A play written by the German playwright Gerhart Hauptmann in 1892 2016 Imitation of life Proton Theatre, Budapest, Hungary Audience Award – Baltic House Festival 2017. Saint Petersburg, Russia Nominee for best direction: Kornél Mundruczó – Faust Award 2017. 2015 Winterreise CAFe Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival; Danubia Orchestra Óbuda; Proton Theatre, Budapest, Hungary 2014 Hotel Lucky Hole – 3rd part of the suicide trilogy Schauspielhaus Zürich, Switzerland 2013 Dementia – 2nd part of the suicide trilogy Proton Theatre, Budapest, Hungary Critics’ Award – Baltic House Festival 2014. Saint Petersburg, Russia 2012 The Bat or my Little Cemetery – 1st part of the suicide trilogy TR Warszawa, Poland Guarantees of Culture 2012 award in "theatre" category, Telewizja Polska, Poland Grand Prix of the 53rd Kalisz Theatre Meetings for the actors Best performance – Międzynarodowy Festiwal Teatralny "Boska Komedia" (Divine Comedy Festival) 2013. Krakow, Poland 2012 Disgrace Proton Theatre, Budapest, Hungary Best direction: Kornél Mundruczó – 13th National Theatre Festival 2013. Pécs, Hungary 2012 Pleasant Days Theater Oberhausen, Germany 2011 Betrothal in St. Domingo or my Sweet Haiti Staatstheater Hannover, Germany 2011 Time of the Possessed Thalia Theatre Hamburg, Germany 2010 Eszter Solymosi of Tiszaeszlár Staatstheater Hannover, Germany 2010 Hard to be a God Proton Theatre, Budapest, Hungary Price of the Federal Agency for Civic Education – 8th Politics in Independent Theatre; Staatsschauspiel Dresden 2011. Hellerau, Germany International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) award – MESS International Theatre Festival 2012. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina MESS Forum "Luka Pavlović" Award by Theatre Critics and Journalists – MESS International Theatre Festival 2012. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Audience Award – 8th National Theatre Festival 2008. Pécs, Hungary 2006 The Ice Krétakör Company, Budapest, Hungary Best young creator: Kornél Mundruczó – XIX. Międzynarodowy International Theatre Festival "Kontakt" 2009. Toruń, Poland Silver Laurel Wreath Award for Best Performance in the Mittel Europa category – MESS International Theatre Festival 2009. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina The Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble – MESS International Theatre Festival 2009. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2006 Caligula Radnóti Theatre, Budapest, Hungary 2005 Zérus - the poems of Sinead Morrissey Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Budapest, Hungary 2004 Nibelung-Residency Krétakör Company, Budapest, Hungary

Opera

Year Title Theatre Notes 2024 Tosca Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, Germany 2024 Rusalka Staatsoper Berlin, Germany 2023 Journey of Hope Grand-Théâtre de Genève, Switzerland 2022 Lohengrin Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, Germany; Shanghai Opera House, China 2022 Tannhäuser Staatsoper Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany 2021 Sleepless Staatsoper Berlin, Germany Best Creation of the Year – Opernwelt, Germany 2022 2016 The Makropulos Affair Vlaamse Opera, Antwerpen, Belgium Nominee for best new production – International Opera Awards 2017 2014 Bluebeard's Castle / Winterreise Vlaamse Opera, Ghent, Belgium An unconventional combination of two classical works. The sinister tale Bluebeard's Castle by Béla Bartók, which is shaped with astonishing orchestral strength, is juxtaposed with the intimate quietness of the piano notes and singing voice at the heart of Schubert's Winterreise. 2009 Bluebeard's Castle Budapest Spring Festival, Hungary 2003 The Respectful Prostitute Budapest Autumn Festival, Hungary Kamilló Lendvay's one-act opera, based on Jean-Paul Sartre's drama