ANDRZEJ ŻUłAWSKI (1940–2016)

The Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski has died, according to reports on the Polish site Pomponik and a report by Agence France-Presse on Global Post. Born in a part of occupied Poland that is now Ukraine in 1940, Żuławski left for Paris aged five with his parents and later studied at the Sorbonne. Best known for films like The Third Part of the Night (1971) and Possession (1981)—the latter of which debuted at Cannes and won its lead actress Isabelle Adjani the best actress award—his second full-length feature, The Devil (1972), was banned in Poland. He made most of his films in France due to meddling from Polish authorities, though he also face controversy in other countries like the UK where Possession was banned after an initial theatrical release.

In 2006, served as the head of the jury at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival. His most recent film, Cosmos (2015), has been picked up for North American distribution by Kino Lorber, with a planned theatrical release this summer.