Tibor Fonyódi - Movies, Photos & Biography

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Tibor Fonyodi (alias Harrison Fawcett) author and screenwriter

He was born in the sign of Gemini on 2nd June in Budapest. He took up writing as a hobby when he was 10 and has been at it since. He was 13 when Percy Fawcett's travelogue Exploration Fawcett: Journey to the Lost City of Z got accidentally in his hands. The book had such a strong effect on him he decided that if he ever becomes a writer he will publish his first writing under the name of Harrison Fawcett. His writings were first published in 1992 in the magazine Harmadik Szem (Third Eye).

In 1998, as he promised himself, he publishes his first novel Opium Waltz (Ópiumkeringo) under the name of Harrison Fawcett. This novel, reprinted three times in Hungary, is the first in the now-cult series Brett Shaw. It has been followed by eight other Shaw stories. They were so popular that the first four was reprinted in an anthology titled Best of Brett Shaw by the publishing house Cherubion in 2003.

In the spring of 1998 the first volume of his most well-known novel Warriors of the Cathedral (A katedrális harcosai) was published. For the second volume of his mystical science fiction novel set in ancient Rome, titled Legend of the Cathedral (A Katedrális legendája) he was given a Peter Zsoldos Award in Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year category.

To this day his science fiction stories has been reprinted a record-setting twenty-two times in Hungary. His new science fiction novel Long way to the throne, baby (Hosszú út a trónig, bébi) will be published after a thirteen years hiatus. The novel is the "alternate sequel" to the massively successful Cathedral duology (reprinted three times) that can also be enjoyed without having read the first two.

The reason behind this big break from science fiction is that from the beginning of the second millennia he turned his interest toward the falsified or misinterpreted historical past. He started publishing his historical fantasy adventure series Road of Armies (Hadak útja) in 2002. The first book in the series is called Scourges of God (Isten ostorai) set in the time of the Hun Empire, and the last book, fifth in the series, is named Wind-spout (Förgeteg). The series has been reprinted many times since the first edition. Scourges of God (Isten ostorai) was also published in French by Pygmalion in 2005, titled Le Chamane d'Attila.

His screenwriting career started in 2006, since then he created countless film stories and screenplays that went into production. At the 2008 DetectiveFest held in Moscow he won the category grand prize as lead writer for In The Line Of Fire (Tuzvonalban), and in 2012 at the Vmesztye/Together International Film and Television Festival in Yalta he won the same prize with Hacktion (I-II. season). He is the first Hungarian screenwriter to win an international grand prize with two TV series. From 2010 on he is one of the most employed Hungarian screenwriters, having many (TV movies and feature films) to be produced in international coproduction.

Between 2019-2023, director of script development at the National Film Institute (former Film Fund), member of the Film Professional Jury, from 2023 until his departure (2024) head of film script development, member of the Television Jury.

Between 2021-23, he is a film writing teacher at the Zsigmond Vilmos Institute of Motion Picture Arts, which operates within the framework of the University of Theater and Film.

From February 2024, he will return to the creative side, scriptwriter and creative producer of several domestic and international productions.

In June 2024, together with director Barnabás Tóth, he will receive the Hungarian Motion Picture Award for the script of the Masterpiece (Mesterjátszma).

Tibor Fonyodi is one of the founders of the Association of Hungarian Screenwriters (MFE-HSA) and the screenwriter wing of FilmJus. He is also a member of the Hungarian Writer's Association and a guest lecturer at the Budapest Film Academy. He is married and has three children. Since 2023 he lives in Gödöllo with his family.