- He originally wanted to be a philosopher and considered film making to be a hobby.
- In the 2012 Sight&Sound poll of the greatest films of all time, Tarr listed his favorite films as: Aleksandr Nevski (1938), Au Hasard Balthazar (1966), Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980), Frenzy (1972), M (1931), Man with a Movie Camera (1929), Passion of Joan of Arc (1927), The Round-Up (1966), Tokyo Story (1953) and Vivre Sa Vie (1962).
- Jonathan Rosenbaum, the American film critic, has dubbed Tarr a 'despiritualised Tarkovsky'.
- Attended film school after he made his first movie.
- Lists Tsai Ming-liang, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Carlos Reygadas, Jim Jarmusch, Guy Maddin, and Pedro Costa as being among his favorite contemporary filmmakers.
- Member of the 'Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' (AMPAS) since 2018.
- Founded a film school (film.factory) in Sarajevo 2013. The school existed for two generations of film directing students, then in 2016, Tarr left Sarajevo and it became the Sarajevo Film Academy. In 2018 there were rumors that Tarr may find a new home for his film school in the future - Hungary and Croatia have been mentioned as possible locations.
- The first generation of students of Bela Tarr at his film.factory in Sarajevo (and the only generation to be hand-picked by Tarr himself), have since formed a collective, known as Bistrik7. He is still their mentor and they all remain very close-knit.
- Tribute at the Thessaloniki Film Festival (2002)
- Gus Van Sant cites him as a huge influence on his later work, beginning with Gerry (2002), when he began using very long uninterrupted takes.
- President of the Association of Hungarian Film Artists (Magyar Filmmüvész Szövetség) since 2012.
- Has joined the film foundation and NGO for human rights Cine Foundation International as a member of the Board of Directors. (January 2011)
- President of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 16th Marrakech International Film Festival in 2016.
- Szabadgyalog (1981) and Almanac of Fall (1984) are his only films that are not in black and white. He has stated that he generally considers the use of color in film to be "a gimmick".
- President of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 20th Sarajevo International Film Festival in 2014.
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