Born and raised in Budapest

First short film as director, the thesis film "Konzert/Concert"

Joined Bela Balazs Studio as assistant after graduation

Helmed the shorts "Variaciok egy temara/Variations Upon a Theme" (1961) and "Te/You" (1963)

First feature-length film, "Almodozasok Kora/The Age of Daydreaming"; film starred Andras Balint

Directed second feature, "Apa/Father"

Helmed first color film "Szerelmesfilm/Love Film", an unofficial sequel to "Apa"

Moved into darker, more experimental works by crafting a film with a building as its central character, "Tuzolto utea 25/25 Fireman's Street"

First TV film, "Premiere"

Helmed the modern allegory "Budapest Tales/Budapesti mesek"

Lectured at Academy for Theatre and Film Art

Breakthrough feature "Bizalom/Confidence"; garnered international attention and festival awards; first of six films with director of photography Lajos Koltai; earned a 1980 Oscar nomination for Best Foreign-Language Film

Directed "The Green Bird" for German television

Adapted (with screenwriter Peter Dobai) the roman-a-clef "Mephisto" for German television; focused on an actor who finds a mentor in a top Nazi general; first film with Klaus Maria Brandauer; earned the Best Foreign-Language Film Academy Award

Directed "Colonel Redl", based on espionage scandal in Austrian army just prior to WWI and on John Osbourne's play "A Patriot for Me"; received Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar nomination

Third collaboration with Brandauer, "Hanussen" also received Best Foreign-Language Film Academy Award nomination

English-language debut, "Meeting Venus", starring Glenn Close

Received widespread acclaim for the English-language "Sunshine/A Taste of Sunshine"; screened at Toronto Film Festival

Directed Stellan Skarsgård in "Taking Sides," a tale based on the life of Wilhelm Furtwangler, the controversial conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic

Directed Annette Bening in "Being Julia" based on the W. Somerset Maugham novel