List of Hungarian Academy Award winners and nominees explained

This is a list of Academy Award winners and nominees born in Hungary or as Hungarians according to Hungarian nationality law-people who hold Hungarian citizenship acquired by descent from a Hungarian parent or by naturalisation.^[1]

Best Director

Director
Year	Name	Film	Status	Notes
1935	Michael Curtiz^[2]	Captain Blood
1938		Angels with Dirty Faces
		Four Daughters
1942		Yankee Doodle Dandy
1943		Casablanca
1964	George Cukor	My Fair Lady		US-born

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Best Actor
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1932-33		Berkeley Square		László Steiner, UK-born
1938			Pygmalion		Co-directed by Leslie Howard Produced by Gabriel Pascal
1943			Watch on the Rhine		Was against possible communist influences in Hollywood.
1945		A Song to Remember		Dir:Charles Vidor, music:Miklós Rózsa
1958	Tony Curtis	The Defiant One		Hungarian speaker. Mother Helen Klein^[3] b. in Valkó
1986	Paul Newman	The Color of Money		3/4-Hungarian
2002	Adrien Brody	The Pianist		Hungarian mother

"*"=US-born

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Best Actor
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1969	Goldie Hawn	Cactus Flower		Hungarian mother, US-born
2005	Rachel Weisz	The Constant Gardener		Hungarian father, UK-born
2022	Jamie Lee Curtis ^[4]	Everything Everywhere All at Once		Hungarian father Tony Curtis, US-born

"*"= US-born

Best Short Subject

Best Short Subject
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1934	Jules White	Men in Black		Born as Gyula Weisz in Budapest
1935		Oh, My Nerves
1939	Michael Curtiz	Sons of Liberty
1945	Jules White	The Jury Goes Round 'N' Round
1946		Hiss and Yell

Best Documentary (Long Subject)

Best Documentary Feature Film
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1977	Robert Dornhelm	The Children of Theatre Street		Born in Temesvár.Hungarian-Jewish father.^[5] ^[6] Mother a German speaker.
1993	Chris Hegedus^[7] ^[8]	The War Room
2000^[9]	Kevin MacDonald	One Day In September		Hungarian citizen/grand-father Imre Pressburger
2018	Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi	Free Solo		Hungarian father
2019	Steven Bognar	American Factory		Hungarian father (Escaped 1956)

* = US-born

Best Documentary (Short Subject)

Best Short Subject
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1965	Mafilm	Overture
1966		Saint Matthew Passion
1969	Joan Horvath	Jenny Is a Good Thing
1971	Robert Amram	Sentinels of Silence		Shared with Manuel Arango
1975	Steven Kovacs	Artur and Lillie		Shared with Jon Else and Kristine Samuelson
1979	Phillip Borsos	Nails
2009	Steven Bognar	The Last Truck		Hungarian father (Escaped 1956)

Best Picture

Best Picture
Year	Producer	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1927-28	William Fox (producer)			Directed by F. W. Murnau
1932-33	Alexander Korda	The Private Life of Henry VIII
1938	Gabriel Pascal	Pygmalion		Born in Arad, Arad County
1968	Paul Newman	Rachel, Rachel
1993	Branko Lustig^[10]	Schindler's List		Parents Hungarian Jews from Újvidék
1999	Frank Darabont^[11]	The Green Mile
2000	Branko Lustig	Gladiator		Parents Hungarian Jews from Újvidék
2009	Ivan Reitman	Up in the Air		Hungarian Jew from Komárom
2012	Margaret Menegoz (born Baranyai)	Amour		Most EFA-awarded Hungarian: 3 wins/4 nominations (out of ca 16 wins)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Best Adapted Screenplay
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1930-31	Francis Edward Faragoh	Little Caesar
1937		The Life of Emile Zola
1942	Emeric Pressburger	49th Parallel
1948	Frank Partos	The Snake Pit
1971	Ernest Tidyman	The French Connection		Hungarian mother
1994	Frank Darabont	The Shawshank Redemption		(Parents escaped 1956.)
1999		The Green Mile

Best Original Screenplay

Best Original Screenplay
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1927-28	Lajos Bíró	The Last Command		Born in Nagyvárad
1940	János Székely	Arise, My Love
1942	Emeric Pressburger	One of Our Aircraft Is Missing		Born in Miskolcz
1949	Robert Pirosh	Battleground		US-born
1951	Robert Pirosh	Go for Broke!		US-born
2015	Dan Gilroy	Nightcrawler		US-born, mother HUN

* = US-born

Best Original Story

Best Story
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1937		The Life of Emile Zola		Born in Nagykanizsa
1939	Melchior Lengyel	Ninotchka
1942	Emeric Pressburger	49th Parallel		Most awarded Hungarian in screenplay categories: 1 AA out of 4 nominations.
1945	László Görög	The Affairs of Susan		Shared with Thomas Monroe
1948	Emeric Pressburger	The Red Shoes		Born in Miskolcz.
1950	André de Toth	The Gunfighter		Shared with William Bowers

Best Dance Direction

Academy Award for Best Dance Direction
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1935	Dave Gould	Folies Bergère de Paris		Born as Dezsö Guttman in Cigánd
		Broadway Melody of 1936
1936		Born to Dance
1937		A Day at the Races

Best Art Direction

Best Art Direction
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
		Cavalcade		Born in Sandorháza, Banat, Transylvania; Kingdom of Hungary as Vilmos Sándorházy
		Lloyd's of London
		Wee Willie Winkie
		The Rains Came
1940	Vincent Korda	The Thief of Bagdad		Color
	Paul Groesse	Pride and Prejudice		Black & White
		That Hamilton Woman
		Jungle Book
1943	Paul Groesse	Madame Curie
1943	William S. Darling	The Song of Bernadette		shared with James Basevi
1945		The Keys of the Kingdom
1946		Anna and the King of Siam		Black & White, shared with Lyle R. Wheeler
		The Yearling		Color
		Little Women
		Annie Get Your Gun
		Too Young to Kiss
		The Merry Widow
		Lili
		Moulin Rouge
		Journey to the Center of the Earth
1960		The Apartment
		The Music Man
		The Longest Day
	Paul Groesse	Twilight of Honor
		Mister Buddwing
		The Slender Thread
		Ship of Fools
1976	Alexandre Trauner^[12]	The Man Who Would Be King
		Dune		won BAFTA
	Zsuzsa Mihalek^[13]	Poor Things		^[14] won BAFTA

Best Costume Design

Costume Design
Year	Name	Film	Status	Notes
1952	Marcel Vertès	Moulin Rouge

Best Makeup

Makeup
Year	Name	Film	Status	Notes
1985	Zoltan Elek	Mask

Best International Feature film

See also: List of Hungarian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

Best International Feature Film
Year	Film	Director	width=150	Status	Milestone / Notes
1956	The Captain from Köpenick (for Western Germany)	Gyula Trebitsch (producer)	(for West Germany)	Co-producer for Germany
1966	The Shop on Main Street (for Czechoslovakia)	Jan Kadar (Born in Budapest as János Kádár)	(for Czechoslovakia)	Shared with Elmar Klos
1964	Sallah Shabati (for Israel)	Ephraim Kishon (Born in Budapest as Ferenc Hoffman)	(for Israel)	First ever Israeli film in category Best Foreign Film
1971	The Policeman (for Israel)	Ephraim Kishon	(for Israel)
1968	The Boys of Paul Street	Zoltán Fábri	^[15]
1974	Cats' Play	Károly Makk	^[16]
1978	Hungarians	Zoltán Fábri	^[17]
1978	Madame Rosa (for France)	Jean Bolvary co-producer	(For France)	For France
1980	Confidence	István Szabó	^[18]
1981	Mephisto	István Szabó	^[19]
1983	Job's Revolt	Imre Gyöngyössy and Barna Kabay	^[20]
1985	Colonel Redl	István Szabó	^[21]
1988	Hanussen	István Szabó	^[22]
2004	Ondskan (for Sweden)		(for Sweden)	Hungarian mother from Pozsony
2014	The Notebook^[23] ^[24]	Janos Szász
2015	Son of Saul^[25]	László Nemes	^[26]
2017	On Body and Soul^[27]	Ildikó Enyedi	^[28]
2019	Those Who Remained	Barnabás Tóth

Best Cinematography

Best Cinematography
Year	Name	Film	Status	Notes
1941	Rudolph Maté^[29]	Foreign Correspondent
1942	Rudolph Maté	That Hamilton Woman		Dir: Alexander Korda Music: Miklós Rózsa
1943	Rudolph Maté	The Pride of the Yankees
1944	Rudolph Maté	Sahara		Directed by Korda. Music by Rózsa.
1945	Rudolph Maté	Cover Girl		Shared with Allen M. Davey Director: Charles Vidor
1951	John Alton	An American in Paris		Born as János/Johann Altmann in Sopron Color. Shared with Alfred Gilks
1960	Ernest Laszlo	Inherit the Wind		Music by 1/2- Hungarian Gold.
1961		Judgment at Nuremberg		Music by Ernest Gold.
1963		It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1965		Ship of Fools		Black-and-White
1966		Fantastic Voyage
1968		Star!
1970		Airport
1976		Logan's Run
1977	Vilmos Zsigmond	Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1978		The Deer Hunter
1984		The River
2001	Lajos Koltai	Malèna
2006	Vilmos Zsigmond	The Black Dahlia

Best Animated Short film

Best Animated Short Film
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1941	George Pal^[30]	Rhythm in the Ranks
1942		Tulips Shall Grow
1943		The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
1944		And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
1945		Jasper and the Beanstalk
1946		John Henry and the Inky-Poo
1947		Tubby the Tuba
1963	Jules Engel	Icarus Montgolfier Wright
1964	John Halas	Automania 2000
1975	Peter Foldes	Hunger
1976	Marcell Jankovics	Sisyphus
1980	Ferenc Rofusz	The Fly
2007	Géza M. Tóth	Maestro
2014	Réka Bucsi^[31]	Symphony no.42
2023	Flóra Anna Buda	27^[32]

Best Live Action Short film

Best Live Action Short Film
Year	Director	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1963		Concert
1971		Robert Amram		Sentinels of Silence		Shared with Manuel Arango
2016		Sing^[33]

Best Original Score

Best Original Music Score
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1935	Max Steiner	The Informer		Father Gábor was born in Temesvár, Kingdom of Hungary.
1936		The Garden of Allah
1938		Jezebel
1939		Dark Victory
1939		Gone With the Wind
1940	Miklós Rózsa	The Thief of Baghdad		Producer: Alexander Korda
1941		Lydia
		Sundown
1942		Jungle Book
1943	Max Steiner	Now, Voyager
1944	Miklós Rózsa	Double Indemnity
		The Woman of the Town
	Karl Hajos	Summer Storm
1945		The Man Who Walked Alone
	Leo Erdody	The Minstrel Man
	Max Steiner	Since You Went Away
	Miklós Rózsa	Spellbound
		The Lost Weekend
		A Song to Remember
1946		The Killers
1947		Double Life
1951		Quo Vadis
1952		Ivanhoe
1953		Julius Caesar
1959		Ben-Hur
1961		El Cid
1961	Ernest Gold^[34] ^[35] ^[36] Schurmann orchestrated (both Hungarians)	Exodus		Ernest Gold's paternal grandmother: Jaiteles/Szmetan from Szeged and his maternal grandmother:(Sprung/Slazka)^[37] from Temesvár (Spitzer/Gross) from Budapest
1963	Oscar to Jarre but Gerard Schurmann^[38] orchestrated	Lawrence of Arabia	(association to only)	Hungarian mother studied with Béla Bartók

Technical and scientific

Technical/Scientific Awards
Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone / Notes
1941				Best special effects
1944				For the development of novel methods and techniques in the production of short subjects known as Puppetoons
1949
1950	George Pal Productions^[39]	Destination Moon		Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
1951	George Pal (produced by)		Won	Special Achievements Award
1953	George Pal (produced by)	The War of the Worlds	Won	Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
1985	Chuck Gaspar	Ghostbusters		shared Technical Award(cinematography:László Kovács direction: Ivan Reitman)
1988	Dr.Antal Lisziewicz^[40]			Dr. Antal Lisziewicz and Glenn M. Berggren of ISCO-OPTIC GmbH for the design and development of the Ultra-Star series of motion picture lenses.
1992	Robert Orban ^[41]			Scientific and Technical Award (Scientific and Engineering Award). To Claus Wiedemann and Robert Orban for the design and Dolby Laboratories for the development of the Dolby Labs “Container”/Orban is a Hungarian surname.
1996	Attila Szalay^[42]			shared Scientific & Technical Award
1998	Bill Kovacs			The Advanced Visualizer Scientific & Technical Award
2004	Gyula Mester			GYULA MESTER (electronic systems design) and KEITH EDWARDS (mechanical engineering) for their significant contributions to and continuing development of the Technocrane telescoping camera crane.
2010	Márk Jászberényi, Perlaki and Gyula Priskin^[43]			For their contributions to the development of the Lustre color correction system, which enables real-time digital manipulation of motion picture imagery during the digital intermediate process.
2014	Tibor Madjar,^[44] Imre Major and Csaba Kőhegyi			To Andrew Camenisch, David Cardwell and Tibor Madjar for the concept and design, and to Csaba Kohegyi (from Nyíregyháza) and Imre Major (from Hajdúböszörmény) for the implementation of the Mudbox software.
2014	Chuck Gaspar ^[45]			(shared) As Technical Achievement Award
2021	Attila T. Áfra^[46] ^[47]			shared
2024	Christopher Jon Horvath*^[48]			Hungarian family name
40s?	Béla Gáspár	1st full color one-strip film	?	Patents sold to Technicolor, 3M and reputedly included in AA wins

* = US-born

Honorary Award

Academy Honorary Award
Year	Name	Status	Notes
1949	Adolph Zukor		Hungarian-Jewish, buried in the flag of Kingdom of Hungary
1979	King Vidor		US-born
1986	Paul Newman		3/4-Hungarian, mother born in Peticse, Kingdom of Hungary

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

This list focuses on recipients of Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
Year	Name	Country	Awarded	Status	Milestone/Notes
1939	Joe Pasternak		43rd Academy Awards		Born in Szilágysomlyó, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary

Jean Hersholt Award

Jean Hersholt Award
Year	Name	Status	Notes
1993	Paul Newman		3/4-Hungarian, mother born in Peticse, Kingdom of Hungary

Academy Award Nominations and Winners of US-born Hungarians

• 1. Paul Newman: 3 AA
• 2. Tony Curtis: nom 1958
• 3. George Cukor AA/ 5 nom

Half:

• 1. Goldie Hawn (mother)
• 2. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
• 3. Jamie Lee Curtis
• 4. Ernest Tidyman (mother)
• 5. Ernest Gold (both parents half-hungarian jewish)
• 6. Chuck Gaspar AA/2nom
• 7. Adrien Brody (mother)
• 8. Steven Bognar AA/2nom

Quarter:

• 1. King Vidor: 1AA/5 nom
• 2. Jerry Goldsmith (maternal grandmother: Schwartz)
• 3. Joaquin Phoenix (grandmother)
• 4. River Phoenix (grandmother)
• 5. Phyllis Nagy (grandfather)

Unknown:

• 1. Robert Pirosh AA/2 nom
• 2. Joan Horvath: nom 1969
• 3.Tamásy:
• 4. Bill Kovacs: Scientifical
• 5. Robert Orban: AA:1992:Scientifical
• 6. Paul Mezey
• 7. Christopher Jon Horvath: AA: 2024:Scientifical

All with hungarian family names.Sometimes included in hungarian related lists, but degree of hungarian ancestry not confirmed.Probably around 1/4, and most probably never fully.Some hungarians have changed names:Darling CurtizCurtis

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hungarian citizenship . 14 March 2023 . Consulate General of Hungary Los Angeles . According to the present regulation in force – Act LV of 1993 – Hungarian citizenship can originate under two principles: the most significant one being the principle of origin : the child of every Hungarian citizen becomes a Hungarian citizen by birth (whether the mother or the father is a [or both are] Hungarian citizen [s]). [...] Between October 1st, 1957 – October 1st, 1993: If one of the parents was a Hungarian citizen at the moment of birth, the child became Hungarian citizen. . 21 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230121185157/https://losangeles.mfa.gov.hu/eng/page/hungarian-citizenship . live .
2. Web site: Michael Curtiz. 25 October 2019. 27 June 2021. 27 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210627095428/https://walkoffame.com/michael-curtiz/. live.
3. Web site: Helen Schwartz . 23 November 2023 .
4. "It’s very touching to be in Hungary. From the moment I arrived, I met a lot of people who look like me, or my brothers or sisters.", posted Jamie Lee Curtis in a social media post, who uncovered her Hungarian origins during the filming of Borderlands
5. spoke German with his mother, Hungarian with his father
6. Web site: A blood-stained Viennese waltz .
7. my Hungarian grandmother, who was just such an exquisite chef.
8. Web site: D.A. PENNEBAKER & CHRIS HEGEDUS, "KINGS OF PASTRY" - Filmmaker Magazine . 15 September 2010 .
9. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0531817/awards/
10. Web site: Találatok (újvidék) .
11. Web site: Frank Darabont. centipedepress.com. 2021-06-27. 2023-03-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20230315004549/http://www.centipedepress.com/authors/darabont.html. live.
12. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073341/awards/
13. Web site: Zsuzsa Mihalek | Set Decorator, Art Department, Additional Crew . .
14. Poor ThingsJames Price, Shona Heath, Zsuzsa Mihalek
15. Web site: The 41st Academy Awards (1969) Nominees and Winners . 4 October 2014 . 11 March 2019 . . 14 August 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180814125610/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1969 . live .
16. Web site: The 47th Academy Awards (1975) Nominees and Winners . 6 October 2014 . 11 March 2019 . . 11 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141111074427/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1975 . live .
17. Web site: The 51st Academy Awards (1979) Nominees and Winners . 5 October 2014 . 11 March 2019 . . 2 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004111/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1979 . live .
18. Web site: The 53rd Academy Awards (1981) Nominees and Winners . 5 October 2014 . 11 March 2019 . . 10 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141110111156/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1981 . live .
19. Web site: The 54th Academy Awards (1982) Nominees and Winners . 11 March 2019 . . 2 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004138/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1982 . live .
20. Web site: The 56th Academy Awards (1984) Nominees and Winners . 4 October 2014 . 11 March 2019 . . 11 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141111074432/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1984 . live .
21. Web site: The 58th Academy Awards (1986) Nominees and Winners . 4 October 2014 . 11 March 2019 . . 2 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004226/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1986 . live .
22. Web site: The 61st Academy Awards (1989) Nominees and Winners . 11 March 2019 . . 6 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110706095646/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 . live .
23. Web site: A nagy füzet . .
24. Web site: The Notebook (2013 Hungarian film) .
25. Web site: Oscars: Hungary Selects 'Son of Saul' for Foreign-Language Category. Roxborough. Scott. The Hollywood Reporter. 11 June 2015. 11 June 2015. 12 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150612203041/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-hungary-selects-son-saul-801762. live.
26. Web site: Oscars: Hungary Wins Its First Foreign-Language Honor Since Fall of Communism . . 29 February 2016 . 29 February 2016 . 17 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210417211801/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2016-oscars-best-foreign-language-869714 . live .
27. Web site: Hungary Selects Golden Bear Winner 'On Body and Soul' as Foreign Language Oscar Entry . Variety . Stewart . Clarke . 5 September 2017 . 5 September 2017 . 14 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201014162808/https://variety.com/2017/film/global/hungary-on-body-and-soul-oscar-entry-1202547110/ . live .
28. Web site: Oscars 2018: The list of nominees in full . BBC News . 23 January 2018 . 23 January 2018 . 28 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190328131731/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42788267 . live .
29. Web site: Rudolph Maté . .
30. Web site: George Pal | Hungarian-born animator, director, and producer. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2021-06-27. 2021-06-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20210612041103/https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Pal. live.
31. Web site: Réka Bucsi | Director, Writer, Art Director . .
32. Web site: 27 . .
33. Web site: Embassy of Hungary Kuwait. kuvait.mfa.gov.hu. 2021-06-27. 2021-06-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20210627095014/https://kuvait.mfa.gov.hu/eng/news/hungarian-short-film-sing-won-an-oscar-at-this-weekends-89th-academy-awards. live.
34. Father's mother Jaiteles born in Szeged
35. Web site: Alice Goldner . 6 December 2022 .
36. Web site: Heinrich Spitzer . 3 September 2019 .
37. Web site: Therese Spitzer . 31 August 2019 .
38. Web site: Schurmann (Schürmann), (Eduard) Gerard | Encyclopedia.com. encyclopedia.com.
39. Web site: With George Pal Productions (Sorted by Popularity Ascending). IMDb. 2021-10-31. 2021-10-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20211031231001/https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0012307. live.
40. Web site: Academy Award Nominations & Winners by Category: Scientific and Technical Award . 2023-03-03 . 2023-03-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230303202819/https://www.atogt.com/askoscar/nominations-by-category.php?cat=sci-tech . live .
41. Web site: Academy Award Person Data .
42. Web site: Attila Szalay. IMDb. 2021-11-01. 2021-11-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20211101003011/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004360/. live.
43. Web site: Gyula Priskin. IMDb. 2021-10-28. 2021-11-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20211103174059/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1123137/awards. live.
44. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1300809/awards >
45. Web site: Chuck Gaspar. IMDb. 2021-10-31. 2021-10-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20211031233532/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0309176/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm. live.
46. https://ro.linkedin.com/in/attila-afra
47. Web site: Van egy szatmárnémeti Oscar-díjas. 2021-10-31. 2021-10-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20211031231813/https://www.frissujsag.ro/van-egy-szatmarnemeti-oscar-dijas. live.
48. Web site: Academy Award Nominations & Winners by Category: Scientific and Technical Award .
49. 8 half-hungarians. & 3 quarter: Vidor, Phoenix, Bill Kovacs