/ 17 October 2006

Director of Battle of Algiers dies at 86

Italian filmmaker Gillo Pontecorvo, who directed the black-and-white classic The Battle of Algiers, died in Rome on October 12, hospital officials said. He was 86.

Pontecorvo died at the Polyclinic Gemelli hospital, said hospital spokesperson Nicola Cerbino. The cause of the death was not given, but reports said he had suffered a heart attack months ago.

Pontecorvo directed only a handful of feature movies in a career that spanned decades, earning the nickname of ”lazy Director”. But he remained always involved in the world of cinema, directing documentaries and heading the Venice Film Festival for several years.

A former resistance fighter during World War II, Pontecorvo maintained strong political passions that were reflected in his movies.

His 1959 film Kapo told the story of a Jewish girl attempting to escape a concentration camp, and Qeimada in 1969 starred Marlon Brando in a tale against colonialism. But it was The Battle of Algiers that made his name.

The film won a Golden Lion at the Venice Film festival, as well as Oscar nominations for best director, best screenplay and best foreign film.

Born Gilberto Pontecorvo on November 19 1919 in Pisa to a wealthy Jewish family, he moved to France to escape the Fascist regime’s 1938 racial laws, supporting himself as a tennis instructor.

He studied chemistry and worked as a journalist before taking up directing, starting with documentaries.

Pontecorvo served as director of the Venice Film Festival from 1992 to 1994.

News of the death came as Rome, the city where Pontecorvo lived, was preparing to open the first edition of its film festival, and hundreds of movie executives, celebrities and industry VIPS were informed as they gathered for a ceremony to honour Sean Connery. — Sapa-AP