13/10/2006

Director Gillo Pontecorvo died yesterday evening in Rome. He was one of Italy’s most renowned filmmakers, a winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for The Battle of Algiers and a two-time Oscar nominee.

Pontecorvo was born in Pisa in 1919. After obtaining a degree in Chemistry he began working as a journalist and later in cinema. His films include Kapò and Burn!. He had also served as director of the Venice Film Festival.

(Translated from Italian)