Ferenc András was born on November 24, 1942 in Budapest, but his childhood and youth were tied to the Balaton highlands, Sümeg and its surroundings. Between 1962 and 1966, he worked at Hungarian Television, from where he joined the film industry as a director’s assistant. Among others, he filmed with László Ranódy, Zoltán Fábri, Félix Máriássy, and Sándor Sára, all of whom became his defining masters.
In 1969, he was admitted to the College of Theater and Film Arts, where he obtained a directing degree in 1973. As a young filmmaker, he got involved in the work of Balázs Béla Studio; there he made his ironic short film The People of Dózsa. His first full-length movie, Veri az erdög au wife, was a great success, even though it was filmed under difficult conditions. The increasingly popular director has participated in many television productions, his most successful TV movie being Final Sale.
In 1977, he signed Charter 77, initiated by the Czechoslovak opposition, in which intellectuals and artists protested once morest the measures of the Czechoslovakian dictatorship. Due to his commitment to the opposition, he might not shoot another feature film for years.
In the 1980s, he was the head of Mafilm’s independent acting company for a short time, and later he headed Dialog Filmstúdió. After the regime change, he also worked as a producer. He was entrusted with managing an independent dubbing workshop at Duna TV, managed by Sándor Sára.
András Ferenc Kossuth and Béla Balázs prize-winning film director, screenwriter, producer (Photo: MTI/Csilla Cseke)
With his co-writer, Miklós Munkácsi, he prepared the script for the sequel to his first film, Still the Devil Beats His Wife, but he was no longer able to complete it.
He has won numerous domestic and international film awards with his works.
Ferenc András was hospitalized in April 2024 and died there, but the circumstances of his death have not yet been made public. The director is considered by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation (KIM) to be its own dead.
