Peter Hegedus

Peter Hegedus
Born 21 August 1976
Budapest, Hungary
Residence Brisbane, Australia
Nationality Australian/Hungarian
Alma mater Griffith University
Occupation Director, producer and head of Soul Vision Films
Website
www.soulvisionfilms.com

Peter Hegedus (born 21 August 1976) is an award winning writer, director and producer of both documentary and short fiction films. He is also the grandson of the former Prime Minister of Hungary, Andras Hegedus.

Early life

Peter Hegedus was born in Budapest, Hungary and moved with his mother and his sister to Brisbane, Australia in 1991. In 1995 Peter was accepted into the Queensland College of Art to study film. At twenty-one, he produced and directed a documentary for television Grandfathers and Revolutions about his grandfather; this marked the beginning of his professional career in filmmaking.

Professional career

Peter's first film, Grandfathers and Revolutions, is a story about his own grandfather, Andras Hegedus; the Prime Minister of Hungary who called in the Soviet troops to quash the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. The documentary was produced and directed by Hegedus for SBS TV Australia. The film won multiple awards at international film festivals. (See Awards and achievements)

In 2002 Hegedus formed Soul Vision Films Pty Ltd. According to him, the company's philosophy is to produce and direct films which provide insight into the human condition. Under this company he produced Inheritance, a Fisherman’s Story, a Hungarian-Australian co-production based around the ecological disaster in Hungary in 2000. The film was shortlisted for the 2004 Academy Awards and won an additional seven awards around the world.[1]

In 2004, Hegedus made his first short drama, Redemption which he says captures the nine most important minutes of a man's life in a single take. Redemption participated at many international film festivals and was also shown at the annual conference of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty accompanying the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore.

In 2005 Peter wrote and directed Hole in the Wall, an eleven-minute drama that explores the importance of dealing with the past in order to move on with our lives. The film participated in many festivals around the world and won best screenplay at the Queensland Short Film Festival.[2]

In 2007 Peter produced and directed a longitudinal documentary for the ABC; Wings to Fly following the life of Catrina Lawrence, a 21 year old girl living in Mackay over seven years.

In 2011, Hegedus completed My America, a feature documentary about his search for the American dream. Peter co-produced, directed and wrote the film, which is due for theatrical release in late 2011. My America received a favorable review by Richard Kuipers in film-industry magazine Variety.[3] Also in 2011, Hegedus completed an observational documentary for ABC TV, The Trouble With St Mary’s[4] following the life of a Catholic Priest who is sacked by the Vatican for unorthodox practices. The film has been selected to compete in the inaugural BIFFDOCS competition at the Brisbane International Film Festival 2011.[5]

Awards and achievements

2011 - Awarded the Griffith University Alumni Recognition Award[6] for his achievements in documentary filmmaking.

2011 - The Trouble with St Mary's - feature documentary (writer, director)

2011 - My America - feature documentary (co-producer, writer, director)

2008 - Awarded the Doctor of Visual Arts from Griffith University.

2005 - Hole in the Wall[2] - short drama (Writer/director)

2004 - Redemption - short drama (Writer/director)

2003 - Inheritance, a Fisherman's Story - A feature length documentary for SBS TV Australia, RTBF, Lichtpunt (Producer, writer, and director)

1999 - Grandfathers and Revolutions A 52-minute documentary for SBS TV, Australia (Producer, writer and director)

References

External links