29/02/2016 - The feature debut by Laszlo Nemes has topped off its impressive haul of awards with the Oscar for Best Foreign-language Film

Last night, with his exceptional feature debut Son of Saul [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: László Nemes
interview: László Rajk
film profile], László Nemes became the second Hungarian filmmaker to win the Oscar for Best Foreign-language Film, after Istvan Szabo did so in 1982 (with Mephisto). This Hollywood victory (read the news) is the icing on the cake for the incredible journey undertaken by Son of Saul, which was revealed in competition at Cannes, where it took home the Grand Prix, before going on to pocket a plethora of accolades, including a Golden Globe for Best Foreign-language Film.

Starring charismatic author and poet Géza Röhrig in the lead role, Son of Saul, the screenplay for which was written by the director together with Clara Royer, follows around a prisoner working in a "Sonderkommando" at Auschwitz, who is desperately trying to give his son a proper, religious burial. The story is filmed in a deeply and intensely immersive style thanks to the work of DoP Mátyás Erdély and sound designer Tamás Zányi.

Son of Saul was produced by Gábor Sipos and Gábor Rajna for Laokoon Filmgroup, with backing from the Hungarian Film Fund, the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation Résidence, Sarajevo Cinelink and the Jerusalem Film Lab.

Having been sold all around the world by French sales agent Films Distribution, Son of Saul has already come out in many European countries. It has been on cinema listings in Denmark since Thursday last week, and will hit screens in Germany on 10 March, Romania on 11 March and the UK on 29 April.

(Translated from French)