{{short description|Canadian film director}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox person | image = | name = George Kaczender | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|04|19|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Budapest]], Hungary | death_date = {{death date and age|2016|08|24|1933|04|19|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Century City, Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Director|editor|writer}} | years_active = 1957–2014 }}
'''George Kaczender''' (19 April 1933 – 24 August 2016) was a Hungarian-born Canadian [[film director]].<ref name="death">{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-kaczender-dead-praise-older-923997 |title=George Kaczender, Director of the Steamy 'In Praise of Older Women,' Dies at 83 |access-date=30 August 2016 |work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=29 August 2016 }}</ref> He directed 26 films between 1963 and 2001.
==Biography== Kaczender left Hungary in 1956 as a political refugee after studying film and working as an assistant director at the Pannonia Film Studios in Budapest.
Before coming to Los Angeles in the early 80s he worked at the [[National Film Board of Canada]] in Montreal from 1956 to 1969 where he wrote and directed award-winning documentaries and short dramatic features. In 1968 he wrote and directed the award-winning feature film, ''[[Don't Let the Angels Fall]]'', starring Arthur Hill, that became the first Canadian feature film invited to the main competition at the [[1969 Cannes Film Festival]]. In 1970 he left the Film Board to work in London with the producer, [[Oscar Lewenstein]]. The same year he became one of the founding partners of International Cinemedia Center in Montreal.
In the 1970s he directed numerous award-winning educational films for Learning Corporation of America and five theatrical feature films before leaving Canada for Hollywood. Among them, ''[[In Praise of Older Women (1978 film)|In Praise of Older Women]]'' based on the best-selling novel by S. Vizinczey, and ''[[Chanel Solitaire]]'', the life of [[Coco Chanel]], shot on location in France.
He has worked with stars such as Robert Mitchum, Richard Harris, Jeanne Moreau, Tom Berenger, JoBeth Williams, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Karen Black. He has also directed numerous films for network and cable television such as ''[[Jonathan: The Boy Nobody Wanted]]''.
His film ''Don't let the Angels Fall'' was nominated for the [[Palme d'Or]] at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2511/year/1969.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Don't Let the Angels Fall |access-date=5 April 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308012522/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2511/year/1969.html |archive-date=8 March 2012 }}</ref> and his film ''[[U-Turn (1973 film)|The Girl in Blue]]'' was nominated for the [[Golden Bear]] at the [[23rd Berlin International Film Festival|1973 Berlin Film Festival]].<ref name="imdb">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070848/awards |title=IMDB.com: Awards for U-Turn |access-date=1 July 2010 |work=imdb.com}}</ref> He has numerous international awards for his work on documentaries and short dramatic films.
His first novel, ''An Unreasonable Notion of Desire'', was [[self-publishing|self-published]] in 2000 through [[Xlibris]]. His second novel, "Notebooks of an Incurable Romantic", was published in 2013 by Red Cat Tales Publishing.
Between 2002 and 2004 he was adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television, teaching film directing.
==Selected filmography== * ''[[Don't Let the Angels Fall]]'' (1969) * ''Freud: The Hidden Nature of Man'' (1970)<ref>International Cinemedia Center</ref> * ''[[U-Turn (1973 film)|The Girl in Blue]]'' (1973) * ''[[In Praise of Older Women (1978 film)|In Praise of Older Women]]'' (1978) * ''[[Agency (film)|Agency]]'' (1980) * ''[[Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid]]'' (1981) * ''[[Chanel Solitaire]]'' (1982) * ''[[Tomorrow's a Killer]]'' (1987) * ''[[Jonathan: The Boy Nobody Wanted]]'' (1993) * ''[[Christy: A Change of Seasons]]'' (2001)
==Publications== * "An Unreasonable Notion of Desire" (2000) * "Notebooks of an Incurable Romantic" (2013)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0434211|George Kaczender}} *[https://www.nfb.ca/directors/george-kaczender/ Films by George Kaczender] at the [[National Film Board of Canada]] * {{Internet Archive author |search=George Kaczender}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaczender, George}} [[Category:1933 births]] [[Category:2016 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian screenwriters]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian screenwriters]] [[Category:Film directors from Montreal]] [[Category:Canadian film editors]] [[Category:Hungarian film editors]] [[Category:Hungarian film directors]] [[Category:Canadian male screenwriters]] [[Category:Hungarian emigrants to Canada]] [[Category:National Film Board of Canada people]] [[Category:Writers from Budapest]]