Hungarian director Marta Meszaros is a pioneer in female cinema. She has directed 70 films over the past 50 years, many of which dealt with women's issues such as pregnancy, abortion and gender discrimination.
Meszaros said that people can see things differently and more closely through the eyes of women. However, the sharp distinction between male and female films is not only unnecessary but also wrong.
"There is no such thing as a female film. It doesn't matter if a film is made by a man or woman", she said Friday during a news conference at the Artreon Theater in Shinchon, northern Seoul. "What really matters is whether or not it is a good film".
Although her international reputation largely comes from her films regarding issues on women, her interests are not limited to that topic but aroused from everything around her, she said.
"You are mistaken if you think I have mainly dealt with issues of women. I talked about the life of men, children and youngsters. I just want to talk about everything around me like politics and history", she said.
She came to Seoul last week to participate in the 9th Women's Film Festival in Seoul (WFFIS), which kicked off last Thursday and will run through April 12.
During the festival, five of her most representative works are being shown in a retrospective dedicated to her including "Adoption" (1975), "The Two of Them" (1977), "Diary for My Children" (1982) and "Fetus" (1993). She also held a seminar with the audience yesterday, titled "Women's Cinema in Eastern Europe".
Meszaros began filmmaking at the age of 18 and won acclaim with her first feature film, "The Girl", in 1968, which was also the first-ever feature film by a Hungarian female director.
With her work "Adaptation" in 1975, she won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival as the first female filmmaker. Last year, the Berlin International Film Festival awarded her the Berlinale Camera prize for her lifetime contribution to world cinema.
The 76-year-old director said she has been lucky in her career and curiosity is what has led her to the current status and joy in filmmaking helps keep her making films.
"I don't know how and why I became a director. It's just curiosity that made me make a film, to see what kind of film I could make. There was no female director at that time and I just wanted to see what would happen. And I'm just happy with my work and the close relationship with my staff and actors, who are like my family", she said.
Meszaros, however, noted many things have changed and filmmaking has now become a business rather than art.
"In the past, political and ideological censorship was the biggest hindrance, but now I think money really matters and it has become kind of severe censorship", she said.
Despite the budget issue, it is also true that a lot of films have been made, but the real problem is there are no "real" films, she said.
"Films are made and released everyday and everywhere. They screen on television and a number of theaters. But I question how many of them are real movies, which makes me sad. Personally, I hate Hollywood films that are made of sheer money", she said.
The director spoke passionately about her career and movies throughout the conference. She released her latest film, "The Unburied Man", in 2004 and hopes to make more films.
"I want to make a film on modern history if God allows me to do so. Since God allowed me to arrive here in this country far from my own, he will let me, I guess", she said.
For more information about the screening schedule of her films at the festival, call (02) 583-3598-9 or visit the festival's official Web site ( Open the link ).
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