Italian director and screenwriter Ettore Scola has died in Rome at the age of 84 according to Italian news reports.
Scola was the director and screenplay writer of ‘A Special Day,’ which starred Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. The film won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 and was also nominated for two Academy Awards.
Internationally, the film maker won the Best Director award at the Cannes film festival in 1976 for ‘Brutti, Sporchi e Cattivi’ (Ugly, Dirty and Bad) as well as the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin film festival for ‘Le Bal’ in 1984. In his home country of Italy, Scola has been nominated and won numerous awards since the mid 1960’s.
Scola’s other works included 1962’s ‘Il Sorpasso’, 1990’s ‘La Cena’ (The Dinner) and 1987’s ‘La Famiglia’ (The Family). (Reuters)