The often-debated and radical British filmmaker Peter Watkins has died at the age of 90. This according to an official statement made by his family. The director and Oscar-winner is claimed to have passed away peacefully in central France, close to the town where he spent his last 25 years.
Watkins is perhaps best known for The War Game. A mockumentary-style movie that depicts a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain, and also scared the pants off the BBC, who promptly refused to broadcast and banned it. Yet two years later, at the 1967 Academy Awards, it won him an Oscar for best documentary.
He was often described as one of the industry's most brilliant, yet difficult and rebellious figures with a career defined by conflict as he frequently clashed with the establishment. His feuds with the BBC forced him to seek funding abroad and during his life he demonstrated his unique ability both to entertain and unsettle several times.
Films like Privilege and Punishment Park are both legendary in their own right, provocative and ground-breaking works of art. His last film was the epic 345 minute long The Commune, which screened at the Musée d'Orsay in the early 2000s.
Rest in peace.
