Bálint Kenyeres

Kenyeres is a founding member of the London-based production company Assembly Collective.

• Name — Bálint Kenyeres • Born — 1976 (age 49–50) • Birthplace — Budapest, Hungary • Education — University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest • Occupation — Director, screenwriter • Years Active — 1999–present

Kenyeres was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1976. He studied philosophy, film history and film theory before graduating from the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest in 2006 with a degree in film directing. Following his graduation he became a member of the European Film Academy.

• Year — Title — Role — Description — Notes • Director — Writer — Producer • 1999 — Closing Time (Zárás) — Short film — Premiered at the Venice Film Festival • 2000 — Teleplay (Tévéjáték) — Short film — Early short film project • 2005 — Before Dawn — Short film — European Film Award – Best Short Film; Cannes Film Festival Short Film Palme d'Or Competition; Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award Honorable Mention • 2009 — The History of Aviation — Short film — Directors' Fortnight selection at the Cannes Film Festival • 2018 — Hier — Feature film — Premiered at the Locarno Film Festival • 2025 — The Spectacle — Short film — Cannes Film Festival Short Film Palme d'Or Competition selection

Kenyeres began directing short films in the late 1990s. His film Closing Time (Hungarian: Zárás, 1999) premiered at the Venice Film Festival. His short film Before Dawn (2005) premiered in the short film competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The film depicts, in a single continuous 35mm shot, people rising from a field of wheat to be collected by a van before a Special Forces ambush takes place. It won the European Film Award for Best Short Film in 2006 and received a Special Mention from the Short Film Jury at the Sundance Film Festival. Kenyeres returned to Cannes in 2009 with the short film The History of Aviation, which screened in the Directors’ Fortnight programme. The film follows a young girl walking along seaside cliffs while, in the sky above, a forgotten moment from aviation history unfolds. In 2025, his short film The Spectacle, about a boy with supernatural abilities who lives in a small village just outside Budapest, was selected for the Cannes short film competition.

Kenyeres directed his first feature film, Hier, starring Vlad Ivanov, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2018. The film was an international co-production involving companies from Hungary, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Morocco. The film follows a man pursuing a hallucinatory obsession through Morocco.