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Paolo Taviani, acclaimed director of classic Italian films, dies aged 92

The film-maker, who won the Palme d’Or for 1977’s Padre Padrone, was a towering presence for more than three decades, creating politically engaged works with his brother Vittorio

The Italian film-maker Paolo Taviani, whose gritty biopic Padre Padrone won top prize at the Cannes film festival, has died aged 92, Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, said on Thursday. The brothers’ father was an anti-fascist lawyer and they had an early interest in social issues, which they translated on to the screen with works known for their mix of history, psychological analysis and lyricism. His death “leaves an unfillable void not only in the world of cinema, but in the hearts of all of us who shared his origins, but also his love for this land,” said Eugenio Giani, the governor of Tuscany.

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