Bálint Szimler
Director
Born in Hungary but raised in the USA, Bálint Szimler got enrolled to the University of Theatre and Film Arts of Budapest in 2006. His third year short film ‘Here I Am’ won the Hungarian Film Week and was selected to be at Cannes Cinefondation. It received a nomination for the European Film Awards and won at Lisbon&Estoril Film Festival. After completing his studies, he created the Kodály Method video series with his frequent collaborator, DOP Marcell Rév, which led to a feature-length musical documentary 'Balaton Method'. It was the first Hungarian film to complete a successful crowdfunding campaign. His debut feature 'Fekete Pont' (Lesson Learned) was awarded best performance and a special mention at Locarno Film Festival in 2024 and it won best film at Ljubljana Film Festival and Febio Fest.
Bálint is the creative director of the Budapest International Film Festival (BIFF). Additionally, he frequently directs commercials, including the award-winning Samsung - See Colors commercial, which earned two bronze lions at Cannes Lions in 2016.