Imitation of Life

Kornél Mundruczó (1975, Hungary) is a renowned European film, theatre and opera director, whose creations are presented at the most prestigious festivals all over the world. After studying at the Hungarian University of Film and Drama, he began working for the stage in 2003. During the creative process he aims to build a team in which the actors work as creative partners. In 2009 he founded his independent theatre company, Proton Theatre, together with theatre producer Dóra Büki. He was nominated for the Faust Award in 2017 for his outstanding directorial achievement with Proton Theatre’s Imitation of Life. He has directed opera since 2003. The Makropulos Affair, which premiered in the Flemish Opera in Antwerp, was nominated for the International Opera Award in the category Best New Production. In 2003 he also made his debut as film director, at the Cannes Film Festival. That same year, he founded the film production company Proton Cinema Ltd with Viktória Petrányi, his long-time artistic collaborator. His third feature film, Johanna – an operatic adaptation of the story of Joan of Arc – was presented in 2005, in the independent Un Certain Regard section of Cannes Festival. In 2014 his sixth feature film, White God, won the main prize in the same section at Cannes. His first English-language feature, Pieces of a Woman, was in Competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival. His film Evolution, which was inspired by the theatre production of the same title of Proton Theatre, premiered in the new section of 2021 Cannes Film Festival, called Cannes Premiere.