Film world bids farewell to Raúl Ruiz

19/08/2011 - Chilean-born director Raúl Ruiz died this morning in Paris at the age of 70, after a long illness.

During a career spanning almost 50 years (many of those spent in France, where he went into exile after the Chilean coup of September 11, 1973), Ruiz presented his work at several international festivals and won awards at many of them. In 1997, the year he vied for the Golden Bear with Genealogies of a Crime, the Berlinale awarded him the Silver Bear for Lifetime Contribution to the Art of Cinema.

Among his best-known films of the last 15 years are Marcel Proust’s Time Regained, an adaptation of Proust’s work; and KIimt [trailer], starring John Malkovich.

His last film, French/Portuguese co-production Mysteries of Lisbon [trailer], had its world premiere at the 2010 edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival, where it scooped the Silver Shell for Best Director.