The 64th Berlin International Film Festival, which opens on 6 February, has announced its sadness at the recent deaths of three prominent figures in world cinema: Miklós Jancsó, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Maximilian Schell.
Miklós Jancsó, who passed away on 31 January 2014, was one of Hungary's most influential directors and screenwriters. He became especially popular in the 1960s and his most notable films include The Round Up (1965), The Red and the White (1967) and Red Psalm (1971) for which he received the Best Director Award at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Jancsó received awards for his life work in 1979 at Cannes and in 1990 at the Venice Film Festival. He was 92.
Maximilian Schell was an Austrian-born Swiss actor stage and film actor. His role in Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) brought him multiple awards including Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic Performance (2nd place), New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor. Schell died on 1 February 2014 at the age of 83.
Philip Seymour Hoffman was an American actor and film director, winner of an Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for his film Capote. He was also nominated for Tony Awards for his work in theatre. Hoffman was found dead in his New York apartment on 2 February 2014. A drug overdose has been stated as the probable cause of death but the official results of his autopsy have not been revealed. Hoffman was 46.