Oscar winning Hungarians and Hungarian Films

The Academy Awards, or “Oscars”, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (A.M.P.A.S.) to recognize excellence in cinematic achievements in the United States film industry as assessed by the Academy’s voting membership. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit, which has become commonly known by its nickname “Oscar”. The awards, first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are overseen by A.M.P.A.S.

Son of Saul (Hungarian: Saul fia) is a 2015 Hungarian drama film directed by László Nemes . It is the ninth Hungarian film to be nominated for the award and  second Hungarian film to win the award, the first one being István Szabó’s Mephisto in 1981.

Although not many Hungarian actors have starred in Hollywood movies recently, still our talented directors, cinematographers have received several Oscar awards during the past decades.
1 – William S. Darling [aka: William Darling] {d. Dec 15, 1963} , Hungarian Art Director
1932/33 (6th) * ART DIRECTION — Cavalcade
1943 (16th)   * ART DIRECTION — The Song of Bernadette
1946 (19th)   * ART DIRECTION — Anna and the King of Siam

2 – Geza Herczeg    {d. Feb 19, 1954}, Hungarian Playwright and Screenwriter

1937 (10th)    * WRITING (Screenplay) — The Life of Emile Zola

3 – Pressburger Imre (Emeric Pressburger)    {d. Feb 5, 1988} – Hungarian Screenwriter, Film Firector, and Producer.

1942 (15th)    * WRITING (Original Motion Picture Story) — The Invaders

4 – Kertész Mihály (Michael Curtiz) {d. Apr 10, 1962}, Hungarian Film Director,

1943 (16th)    * DIRECTING — Casablanca

5 – Lukács Pál (Paul Lukas) {d. Aug 15, 1971}, Hungarian Actor

1943 (16th)    * ACTOR — Watch on the Rhine {“Kurt Muller”}

6 – Marczincsak György Pál (George Pal) {d. May 2, 1980}, Hungarian Animator and Film Producer

1943 (16th)    * SPECIAL AWARD – To George Pal for the development of novel methods and techniques in the production of short subjects known as Puppetoons. [plaque; replaced with statuette in 1967]

1950 (23rd)    * SPECIAL EFFECTS — Destination Moon

7 – Adolph Zukor    {d. Jun 10, 1976}, founder of Paramount Pictures

1948 (21st)    * SPECIAL AWARD To Adolph Zukor, a man who has been called the father of the feature film in America, for his services to the industry over a period of forty years.

8 – Rózsa Miklós , Hungarian Music Composer, Conductor.

1945 (18th)    * MUSIC (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) — Spellbound
1947 (20th)    * MUSIC (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) — A Double Life [statuette]
1959 (32nd)    * MUSIC (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) — Ben-Hur [statuette]

9 – Trauner Sándor (Alexander Trauner) {d. Dec 5, 1993} – Hungarian Production Designer

1960 (33rd)    * ART DIRECTION — The Apartment

10 – Zsigmond Vilmos  {d. Jan 1, 2016} – Hungarian Cinematographer

1977 (50th)    * CINEMATOGRAPHY — Close Encounters of the Third Kind [statuette]

11 – Ferenc Rofusz, Hungarian Animator

1980 (53rd)    * SHORT FILM (Animated) — The Fly (The first Hungarian film, which won an Academy Award)

12 – Szabó István , Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director.

1981 (54th)    * FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM — Hungary (Mephisto)

13 – László Nemes, Hungarian film director and screenwriter

2015 (88th)    * FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM — Hungary (Son of Saul )

Academy Awarded stars who has Hungarian roots..

• Adrien Brody (His mother is Hungarian)
• Paul Newman (Paul’s paternal grandparents, Simon Newman and Hannah Cohn, were immigrants from Hungary and Poland)
• Goldie Hawn (Maternal grandparents were Hungarian)
• Rachel Weisz (Her father, George Weisz, is Hungarian)