In memoriam: obituaries of those who died in 2025

Alon Aboutboul (28 May 1965 – 29 July 2025): Israeli actor (Nina’s Tragedies; 2008’s Out of the Blue) who also had supporting parts in Hollywood productions (The Dark Knight Rises).

Héctor Alterio (21 Sept 1929 – 13 Dec 2025): starred in some of the most significant films in Argentine cinema and also regularly worked in Spain (1974’s The Truce; Cría cuervos; The Official Story).

Björn Andrésen (26 Jan 1955 – 25 Oct 2025): Swedish actor who was Tadzio, the object of Aschenbach’s obsession in Death in Venice, and later turned up as a community elder in Midsommar.

Niké Arrighi (9 Mar 1944 – 12 Feb 2025): acted in horror (The Devil Rides Out), gialli (The Perfume of the Lady in Black) and European arthouse (Day for Night) and was also a model, artist and Italian princess.

Adriana Asti (30 Apr 1931 – 31 July 2025): Italian actor seen in films for leading auteurs, including Pasolini (Accattone), Bertolucci (Before the Revolution) and Buñuel (The Phantom of Liberty).

Nora Aunor (21 May 1953 – 16 Apr 2025): actor and singer who was a major star in the Philippines for over 50 years (Once a Moth; Bona; The Flor Contemplacion Story).

Joe Don Baker (12 Feb 1936 – 7 May 2025): character actor who was a ruthless hitman in Charley Varrick, played the lead in Walking Tall and co-starred – as two separate characters – in three Bond pictures. 

Mohammad Bakri (27 Nov 1953 – 24 Dec 2025): trailblazing Palestinian actor (1984’s Beyond the Walls; Wajib) who directed Jenin, Jenin, a documentary that has endured censorship and lawsuits in Israel for over 20 years.

Brigitte Bardot (28 Sept 1934 – 28 Dec 2025): whose screen presence and sensuality changed the depiction of eroticism on screen and turned her into one of the world’s most recognisable movie stars (And God Created Woman; La Vérité; Le Mépris; Viva Maria!).

Jiří Bartoška (24 Mar 1947 – 8 May 2025): Czech actor (All My Loved Ones; Tiger Theory) who also served as the president of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for 30 years. 

Stanley Baxter (24 May 1926 – 11 Dec 2025): Scottish comedian, impressionist and actor who was a sensation on TV and starred in some films in the 1960s (Very Important Person; The Fast Lady).

Paolo Bonacelli (28 Feb 1937 – 8 Oct 2025): Italian character actor who played significant roles for directors ranging from Pasolini, Wertmüller and Francesco Rosi to Roberto Benigni, Alan Parker and Jim Jarmusch. 

May Britt (22 Mar 1934 – 11 Dec 2025): Swedish actor in Hollywood whose career never recovered from the racist backlash to her 1960 interracial marriage to Sammy Davis Jr (1959’s The Blue Angel; Murder Inc.).

Ray Brooks (20 Apr 1939 – 9 Aug 2025): co-starred in films in the 1960s (The Knack… and How to Get It; Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.) and had a long career on TV (Cathy Come Home). 

Claudia Cardinale (15 Apr 1938 – 23 Sept 2025): Italian screen idol who starred in a series of classics in the 1960s (8½, The Leopard; Once upon a Time in the West) and had a later triumph in Fitzcarraldo. 

Richard Chamberlain (31 Mar 1934 – 29 Mar 2025): versatile actor (Lester’s Musketeers trilogy; The Last Wave) whose career really took off on TV, especially as the star of several blockbuster miniseries (Jerry London’s Shōgun). 

Jacques Charrier (6 Nov 1936 – 3 Sept 2025): French leading man who left acting in his thirties following his tumultuous marriage to Brigitte Bardot (Les Tricheurs; Chabrol’s The Third Lover). 

Presley Chweneyagae (19 Oct 1984 – 27 May 2025): South African actor who received global attention for playing the lead in the award-winning drama Tsotsi.

Jimmy Cliff (30 July 1944 – 24 Nov 2025): pioneering reggae artist who also played the lead role of Ivanhoe Martin in the seminal Jamaican film The Harder They Come.

Kenneth Colley (7 Dec 1937 – 30 June 2025): acted in several films for Ken Russell (The Music Lovers), played an Imperial officer in two Star Wars movies and even showed up as Jesus in Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

Cora Sue Collins (19 Apr 1927 – 27 Apr 2025): child actor who worked steadily in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 40s (The Unexpected Father; Evelyn Prentice; Stahl’s Magnificent Obsession).

Pauline Collins (3 Sept 1940 – 5 Nov 2025): actor of stage, TV (Upstairs, Downstairs) and films (Paradise Road) who had a resounding success in the title role of Shirley Valentine.

Mara Corday (3 Jan 1930 – 9 Feb 2025): actor and model of the 1950s (Tarantula; The Man from Bitter Ridge) who decades later played supporting roles for Clint Eastwood (Sudden Impact).

Pat Crowley (17 Sept 1933 – 14 Sept 2025): co-starred in two Martin & Lewis comedies and Phil Karlson’s Key Witness, then stayed busy on TV, including the sitcom Please Don’t Eat the Daisies.

Florence Delay (aka Florence Carrez) (19 Mar 1941 – July 2025): French novelist, essayist and playwright who made a handful of acting appearances, including the title role in Bresson’s The Trial of Joan of Arc.

Rebekah Del Rio (10 July 1967 – 23 June 2025): singer who performed a powerful rendition of the song ‘Llorando’ for Mulholland Dr. during a critical scene in Club Silencio.

Émilie Dequenne (29 Aug 1981 – 16 Mar 2025): Belgian who won Best Actress at Cannes for her screen debut (Rosetta) and was a major star of European cinema for the next 25 years (Our Children; This Is Our Land).

Dharmendra (8 Dec 1935 – 24 Nov 2025): Indian action hero (Phool Aur Patthar; Mera Gaon Mera Desh) who achieved screen immortality with the mega-hit Sholay.

Verónica Echegui (16 June 1983 – 24 Aug 2025): Spanish actor who emerged in the early 2000s (My Name Is Juani; My Heart Goes Boom!) and directed the award-winning short Tótem Loba.

Emilio Echevarría (3 July 1944 – 4 Jan 2025): Mexican actor who was the hitman El Chivo in Amores perros, a sleeper agent in Havana in Die Another Day and Santa Anna in 2004’s The Alamo.

Samantha Eggar (5 Mar 1939 – 15 Oct 2025): had leading roles in The Collector and the original Doctor Dolittle as well as several horror movies (The Brood).

Taina Elg (9 Mar 1930 – 15 May 2025): Finnish actor and dancer who was under contract to MGM in the 1950s (Les Girls) and also starred opposite Kenneth More in 1959’s The 39 Steps.

Homayoun Ershadi (26 Mar 1947 – 11 Nov 2025): Iranian actor who played the lead role in Taste of Cherry and was featured in The Kite Runner and Zero Dark Thirty.

Marianne Faithfull (29 Dec 1946 – 30 Jan 2025): 1960s singer who continually reinvented herself and had a notable acting career (The Girl on a Motorcycle; Richardson’s Hamlet; Irina Palm).

Barbara Ferris (3 Oct 1936 – 23 May 2025): actor who was most active in films in the 1960s, including co-starring with the Dave Clark Five in Catch Us If You Can and Oskar Werner in Interlude.

Stanley Fung (1944 – 31 Oct 2025): actor of Hong Kong and Taiwanese films who was a core member of the popular Lucky Stars movie series.

Zubeen Garg (18 Nov 1972 – 19 Sept 2025): Indian playback singer, musician, composer and actor of Assamese and Hindi cinema who had a hit with the song ‘Ya Ali’ for the Bollywood film Gangster.

Eleonora Giorgi (21 Oct 1953 – 3 Mar 2025): Italian actor of dramas, horror, exploitation and comedies (To Forget Venice; Argento’s Inferno; Talcum Powder).

Graham Greene (22 June 1952 – 1 Sept 2025): rose to prominence as Kicking Bird in Dances with Wolves and also played an Indigenous rights activist in Clearcut and a death row inmate in The Green Mile.

Peter Greene (8 Oct 1965 – 12 Dec 1965): character actor who brought a great deal of menace to his villainous roles and occasionally got to play the lead (Clean, Shaven; The Mask; Pulp Fiction).

Gene Hackman (30 Jan 1930 – c.18 Feb 2025): top Hollywood star for decades who was long seen as an ‘actor’s actor’ and was widely admired within the industry (The French Connection; The Conversation; Hoosiers; Unforgiven).

Wings Hauser (12 Dec 1947 – 15 Mar 2025): excelled at playing characters who were hardened, raw or even sleazy, including some terrifying villains (Vice Squad; Tough Guys Don’t Dance).

Barbie Hsu (6 Oct 1976 – 2 Feb 2025): Taiwanese actor and singer who starred in the blockbuster TV series Meteor Garden as well as several films (Connected; Reign of Assassins).

Kathleen Hughes (14 Nov 1928 – 19 May 2025): actor known for her co-starring roles in two classics from the 1950s wave of 3D movies (It Came from Outer Space; The Glass Web).

Jimmy Hunt (4 Dec 1939 – 18 July 2025): child actor who was busy in films in the late 1940s and 50s, notably as David, the young protagonist of Invaders from Mars.

Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieślak (15 Feb 1951 – 15 Apr 2025): Polish actor (To Kill This Love; 2008’s Scratch) who won Best Actress at Cannes for Another Way.

Horst Janson (4 Oct 1935 – 19 Jan 2025): German actor seen in international productions (Murphy’s War; Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter).

Claude Jarman Jr (27 Sept 1934 – 12 Jan 2025): played Jody, the boy who adopts a fawn in The Yearling, and had leading roles in Intruder in the Dust and Rio Grande.

Peter Jason (22 July 1944 – 20 Feb 2025): prolific character actor who was a regular on TV’s Deadwood and in the films of Walter Hill (48 Hrs.) and John Carpenter (They Live).

Tchéky Karyo (4 Oct 1953 – 31 Oct 2025): Turkish-born French actor (Nikita) who was active in English-language films (Bad Boys) and starred in TV series The Missing.

Nicky Katt (11 May 1970 – early Apr 2025): supporting player who was known for the intensity of his performances (subUrbia; Full Frontal; Nolan’s Insomnia).

Kamini Kaushal (24 Feb 1927 – 14 Nov 2025): Bollywood actor for over 70 years, including starring roles from the 1940s to 60s (Neecha Nagar; Ziddi; Biraj Bahu).

Diane Keaton (5 Jan 1946 – 11 Oct 2025): actor whose vibrant, utterly distinctive presence turned her into a screen and fashion icon (The Godfather trilogy; Annie Hall; Reds; The First Wives Club).

Udo Kier (14 Oct 1944 – 23 Nov 2025): German actor who attained cult status in European arthouse, Hollywood, horror and exploitation film (Flesh for Frankenstein; My Own Private Idaho; Europa).

Val Kilmer (31 Dec 1959 – 1 Apr 2025): popular actor who showed his great range in such roles as Jim Morrison, Batman, Doc Holliday, Top Gun’s Iceman and De Niro’s right-hand man in Heat.

Kim Sae-Ron (31 July 2000 – 16 Feb 2025): South Korean actor who was a top child and teen star and was graduating into adult roles (A Brand New Life; The Man from Nowhere; A Girl at My Door).

Sally Kirkland (31 Oct 1941 – 11 Nov 2025): actor who could make the most out of even the smallest part (The Way We Were; JFK) and earned a surprise Oscar nomination for the indie film Anna.

Marilyn Knowlden (12 May 1926 – 15 Sept 2025): child actor in Hollywood films of the 1930s, often in small but crucial roles (Cukor’s David Copperfield; Boleslawski’s Les Misérables; Angels with Dirty Faces).

Manoj Kumar (24 July 1937 – 4 Apr 2025): star of Hindi cinema who specialised in patriotic heroes and also had enormous success as a director, writer and producer (Shaheed; Upkar; Kranti).

Diane Ladd (29 Nov 1935 – 3 Nov 2025): was a sassy waitress in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and played two very different Southern matriarchs, both opposite her daughter Laura Dern, in Wild at Heart and Rambling Rose.

June Lockhart (25 June 1925 – 23 Oct 2025): started in films as a teenager (1938’s. A Christmas Carol; Bury Me Dead) and later became familiar for playing TV moms (Lassie).

Michael Madsen (25 Sept 1957 – 3 July 2025): tough-guy actor who occasionally got to show a softer side (Thelma & Louise; Donnie Brasco) and had his best roles for Tarantino, starting with Reservoir Dogs. 

Jean Marsh (1 July 1934 – 13 Apr 2025): actor of stage and screen (Frenzy; Willow) whose greatest fame came as the star and co-creator of TV’s Upstairs, Downstairs. 

Lea Massari (30 June 1933 – 23 June 2025): starred in films in France and her native Italy (A Difficult Life; Murmur of the Heart) and famously played Anna, the woman who goes missing in L’avventura. 

Julian McMahon (27 July 1968 – 2 July 2025): Australian actor who spent much of his career in Hollywood, seen in both lead roles and as villains for TV (Nip/ Tuck) and films (2005’s Fantastic Four; The Surfer). 

Franco Merli (31 Oct 1956 – 17 May 2025): Italian actor who had prominent roles in Pasolini’s last two films, Arabian Nights and Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom. 

Penelope Milford (23 Mar 1948 – 14 Oct 2025): delivered an Oscar-nominated performance as Jane Fonda’s roommate in Coming Home and was the school counsellor in the cult movie Heathers. 

Lee Montague (16 Oct 1927 – 30 Mar 2025): actor who had supporting roles for John Huston (Moulin Rouge), Richard Lester (How I Won the War) and Franco Zeffirelli (Brother Sun, Sister Moon). 

P.H. Moriarty (23 Sept 1938 – 2 Feb 2025): character actor known for playing ruthless criminals, notably Razors in The Long Good Friday and Hatchet Harry in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Nakadai Tatsuya (13 Dec 1932 – 8 Nov 2025): Japanese actor who bridged the classical and New Wave eras through a series of essential performances (The Human Condition trilogy; Harakiri; Ran).

Geneviève Page (13 Dec 1927 – 14 Feb 2025): French actor who also was seen in international productions (El Cid; Belle de jour; The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes).

Mary Peach (20 Oct 1934 – 26 Jan 2025): made her film debut with Room at the Top and was briefly a leading lady in the 1960s (No Love for Johnnie; A Gathering of Eagles).

Joan Plowright (28 Oct 1929 – 16 Jan 2025): distinguished stage actor whose once-sporadic film career had a resurgence starting in the late 1980s (The Entertainer; Drowning by Numbers; Enchanted April).

Eusebio Poncela (15 Sept 1945 – 27 Aug 2025): Spanish actor who revived his career in the 1990s after relocating to Argentina (Arrebato; Law of Desire; Martín (Hache)).

James Ransone (2 June 1979 – 19 Dec 2025): played Ziggy on TV’s The Wire and had supporting roles for Spike Lee (Inside Man) and Sean Baker (Tangerine) and in several horror pictures.

Robert Redford (18 Aug 1936 – 16 Sept 2025): actor and director who used his stardom to tirelessly champion independent filmmakers through his Sundance Institute (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; The Way We Were; All the President’s Men; Ordinary People).

Clive Revill (18 Apr 1930 – 11 Mar 2025): New Zealand supporting actor (Avanti!; The Legend of Hell House) whose voice was used to great effect as the original Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back.

Tony Roberts (22 Oct 1939 – 7 Feb 2025): supporting player (Serpico) who was the ideal second banana to Woody Allen in the 1970s and 80s (Annie Hall; A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy).

Gloria Romero (16 Dec 1933 – 25 Jan 2025): actor who was one of Philippine cinema’s most beloved stars from his first golden age (Dalagang Ilocana; 1984’s Condemned).

Patricia Routledge (17 Feb 1929 – 3 Oct 2025): stage veteran who won lasting fame with TV’s Keeping Up Appearances and had a few notable film roles (To Sir, with Love; The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom).

B. Saroja Devi (7 Jan 1938 – 14 July 2025): Indian actor who made her debut as a teenager and remained a top star of Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi cinemas for decades (Nadodi Mannan; Kittur Chennamma).

Gailard Sartain (18 Sept 1943 – 19 June 2025): character actor who was a racist sheriff in Mississippi Burning, Kathy Bates’s husband in Fried Green Tomatoes and a regular in films for Alan Rudolph, starting with Roadie.

Prunella Scales (22 June 1932 – 27 Oct 2025): had supporting roles in such films as Hobson’s Choice and Howards End, but was particularly memorable – and formidable –  as Sybil on TV’s Fawlty Towers.

Pippa Scott (10 Nov 1934 – 22 May 2025): played the doomed Lucy Edwards in The Searchers and Rosalind Russell’s secretary in Auntie Mame and later made documentaries (King Leopold’s Ghost).

Sandhya Shantaram (22 Sept 1931 – 4 Oct 2025): Indian actor and dancer who starred in the films of her husband, V. Shantaram (Do Aankhen Barah Haath; Navrang; Pinjara).

Enzo Staiola (15 Nov 1939 – 4 June 2025): child actor who delivered one of the most unforgettable performances in Italian cinema as little Bruno in Bicycle Thieves.

Terence Stamp (22 July 1938 – 17 Aug 2025): created indelible performances, starting with Billy Budd and continuing through two Superman movies, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and The Limey.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (27 Sept 1950 – 4 Dec 2025): Japanese-born actor in the U.S. who was often seen as villains in action pictures (Showdown in Little Tokyo; Rising Sun; Mortal Kombat).

Michelle Trachtenberg (11 Oct 1985 – 26 Feb 2025): had her highest-profile roles in the 1990s and 2000s, for TV (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and films (Harriet the Spy; Mysterious Skin).

Isiah Whitlock Jr. (13 Sept 1954 – 30 Dec 2025): supporting player who was a fixture in Spike Lee’s films (25th Hour; Da 5 Bloods) and had his career-defining role as Clay Davis on TV’s The Wire.

Harris Yulin (5 Nov 1937 – 10 June 2025): character actor who was skilled at both drama and comedy but had some of his best roles as corrupt officials (End of the Road; De Palma’s Scarface; Clear and Present Danger).

Paul Fierlinger (15 Mar 1936 – 4 Apr 2025): independent animator who started his career in his native Czechoslovakia before relocating to the US (It’s So Nice to Have a Around the House; My Dog Tulip).

Joe Hale (4 June 1925 – 29 Jan 2025): Disney animator and layout artist (The Rescuers) who also did effects animation for live-action films (The Black Hole) and produced the feature The Black Cauldron.

Co Hoedeman (1 Aug 1940 – 26 May 2025): Dutch-born Canadian director whose stop-motion puppet films won numerous awards, including a Bafta for Tchou-tchou and an Oscar for The Sand Castle.

Fumi Kitahara (2 Mar 1968 – 24 Feb 2025): publicist who was prominent in the animation industry for over 30 years through work with DreamWorks, Disney, Aardman, Netflix and other studios.

Phil Mulloy (29 Aug 1948 – 10 July 2025): filmmaker who was one of the leading and most provocative voices in British independent animation (Cowboys series; Intolerance trilogy; The Christies series).

Adam Greenberg (11 Apr 1937 – 30 Oct 2025): Polish cinematographer who started his career in Israel, then spent decades in Hollywood, including photographing the first two Terminator movies and Ghost.

Eduardo Serra (2 Oct 1943 – 19 Aug 2025): Portuguese cinematographer who often worked abroad (Map of the Human Heart; Girl with a Pearl Earring; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1 & 2).

Ueda Shoji (1 Jan 1938 – 16 Jan 2025): Japanese cinematographer who shot Kurosawa’s final films from Kagemusha to Madadayo, earning an Oscar nomination for Ran.

Billy Williams (3 June 1929 – 20 May 2025): cinematographer who did distinguished work both in England (Women in Love) and the US (On Golden Pond) and shared an Oscar for Gandhi.

Alan Bergman (11 Sept 1925 – 17 July 2025): lyricist who, with his wife Marilyn, frequently wrote songs for movies (The Thomas Crown Affair; The Way We Were; Yentl).

Klaus Doldinger (12 May 1936 – 16 Oct 2025): German jazz saxophonist and composer who scored the films Das Boot and The NeverEnding Story and created the theme for the long-running TV series Tatort.

Nora Orlandi (28 June 1933 – 1 Jan 2025): Italian singer, musician, choir director and composer who wrote highly regarded scores for westerns (Johnny Yuma) and gialli (The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh).

Lalo Schifrin (21 June 1932 – 26 June 2025): composer whose work often reflected his background in jazz (Cool Hand Luke; Bullitt; Dirty Harry) and who, most famously, wrote the Mission: Impossible theme.

Jean-Claude Bernardet (2 Aug 1936 – 12 July 2025): Belgian-born Brazilian critic and theorist who was an important observer of cinema novo, including in his book Brasil em tempo de cinema.

David Ehrenstein (18 Feb 1947 – 12 Mar 2025): critic who wrote about film for a variety of publications and in such books as The Scorsese Picture: The Art and Life of Martin Scorsese and Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998.

Joan Mellen (7 Sept 1941 – 30 June 2025): nonfiction author whose books include several critical studies of film (Women and Their Sexuality in the New Film; Voices from the Japanese Cinema).

P. Adams Sitney (9 Aug 1944 – 8 June 2025): authority on avant-garde cinema who co-founded New York’s Anthology Film Archives and wrote several books, including the landmark Visionary Film.

David Stratton (10 Sept 1939 – 14 Aug 2025): cinephile who was at the forefront of Australian film culture as a critic, author, educator, television host and as the director of the Sydney Film Festival.

John Russell Taylor (19 June 1935 – 18 Aug 2025): film, theatre and art critic who was a prolific author, including the authorised biography Hitch: The Life and Times of Alfred Hitchcock.

Linda Williams (18 Dec 1946 – 12 Mar 2025): influential film scholar who wrote on a range of subjects in such books as Hard Core: Power, Pleasure and the Frenzy of the Visible and Playing the Race Card: Melodramas of Black and White from Uncle Tom to O.J. Simpson.

George Armitage (13 Dec 1942 – 15 Feb 2025): Roger Corman protégé whose films developed a cult following (1972’s Hit Man; Miami Blues; Grosse Pointe Blank). 

Jeff Baena (29 June 1977 – 3 Jan 2025): wrote and directed independent films that often starred his wife Aubrey Plaza (Life After Beth; The Little Hours) and also co-wrote I Heart Huckabees. 

Robert Benton (29 Sept 1932 – 11 May 2025): co-writer of Bonnie and Clyde whose own films as a writer-director were known as superb actors’ showcases (Kramer vs. Kramer; Places in the Heart). 

Bahram Beyzaie (26 Dec 1938 – 26 Dec 2025): leading voice of the Iranian New Wave who battled censorship in the post-revolutionary era (Downpour; The Stranger and the Fog; Bashu, the Little Stranger).

Bertrand Blier (14 Mar 1939 – 20 Jan 2025): French filmmaker who stirred up controversy with his sexually charged social satires (Going Places; Get out Your Handkerchiefs; Too Beautiful for You).

Hark Bohm (18 May 1939 – 14 Nov 2025): German filmmaker (North Sea Is Dead Sea; Yasemin) who also acted in films for Fassbinder (The Marriage of Maria Braun).

Yves Boisset (14 Mar 1939 – 31 Mar 2025): French director of politically engaged dramas, especially in the 1970S (L’Attentat; R.A.S.; Dupont Lajoie).

Corinne Cantrill (6 Nov 1928 – 18 Feb 2025): Australian director of experimental films and documentaries, often in collaboration with her husband Arthur (Harry Hooton; In This Life’s Body).

Christine Choy (17 Sept 1949 – 7 Dec 2025): documentarian who chronicled a range of social issues, often involving the Asian-American community (From Spikes to Spindles; Who Killed Vincent Chin?).

Souleymane Cissé (21 Apr 1940 – 19 Feb 2025): Malian director-writer-producer (The Young Girl; Baara) whose Cannes Jury Prize winner Yeelen is one of the landmarks of African cinema.

Donald Crombie (5 July 1942 – 25 Mar 2025): director of acclaimed dramas who was linked to the Australian new wave (Caddie; Cathy’s Child; The Killing of Angel Street).

Mike de Leon (24 May 1947 – 28 Aug 2025): Filipino filmmaker who dared to tackle explicitly political themes, including during Marcos’s martial law rule (Itim; Kisapmata; Batch ‘81).

Joel DeMott (22 Apr 1947 – 13 June 2025): cinéma vérité documentarian (Demon Lover Diary) whose controversial film Seventeen was banned from American TV but went on to win a Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Carlos Diegues (19 May 1940 – 14 Feb 2025): Brazilian director who was a leader of the cinema novo movement and was known for his opulent visual style (Ganga Zumba; Xica da Silva; Bye Bye Brazil).

Judit Elek (10 Nov 1937 – 1 Oct 2025): Hungarian filmmaker who was a key member of the generation that came out of the Balázs Béla Studio in the early 1960s (How Long Does Man Live?; Memories of a River).

James Foley (28 Dec 1953 – 6 May 2025): director whose résumé includes Madonna music videos, various TV episodes and over a dozen features (At Close Range; After Dark, My Sweet; Glengarry Glen Ross).

Ken Jacobs (25 May 1933 – 5 Oct 2025): filmmaker who was a revolutionary force in American experimental cinema, beginning in the late 1950s (Blonde Cobra; Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son; Star Spangled to Death).

Henry Jaglom (26 Jan 1938 – 22 Sept 2025): writer-director whose independent films were noted for their improvisational, intimate style (Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?; Eating; Déjà Vu).

Sacha Jenkins (22 Aug 1971 – 23 May 2025): documentary filmmaker who explored issues around race in America, especially in relation to the music industry (Fresh Dressed; Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues).

Jonathan Kaplan (25 Nov 1947 – 1 Aug 2025): director who had an ability to handle delicate subject matter with sensitivity (Over the Edge; The Accused) and helmed numerous episodes of TV’s ER.

Shaji N. Karun (1 Jan 1952 – 28 Apr 2025): Indian cinematographer (Kummatty) who became a writer-director (Piravi; Vanaprastham) and was influential in the Malayalam film industry.

Ted Kotcheff (7 Apr 1931 – 10 Apr 2025): Canadian director whose wide-ranging credits include the Australian horror Wake in Fright, the initial Rambo picture First Blood and the cult comedy Weekend at Bernie’s.

Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina (26 Feb 1934 – 23 May 2025): pioneering Algerian director-writer-producer (The Winds of the Aures) whose feature Chronicle of the Years of Fire is the first Arab and African film to win the Palme d’Or.

Jørgen Leth (14 June 1937 – 29 Sept 2025): Danish writer-director (A Sunday in Hell) whose short film The Perfect Human inspired his later collaboration with Lars von Trier, The Five Obstructions.

Camila Loboguerrero (3 Sept 1941 – 21 June 2025): trailblazer who was the first Colombian woman to direct a fiction feature film (Con su música a otra parte; María Cano).

Marcel Łozínski (17 May 1940 – 20 Aug 2025): much-laurelled Polish documentary filmmaker (89mm from Europe; Anything Can Happen; Poste restante).

David Lynch (20 Jan 1946 – 15 Jan 2025): writer-director whose work, by turns dreamlike and nightmarish, labyrinthine and wonderfully bizarre, marked him as one of the most distinctive artists of film (Eraserhead; Blue Velvet; Mulholland Dr.) and TV (Twin Peaks).

George Morrison (3 Nov 1922 – 4 Aug 2025): documentarian who made extensive use of archival footage to chronicle the history of his native Ireland, including the first Irish-language feature (Mise Éire; Saoirse?).

Gunvor Nelson (28 July 1931 – 6 Jan 2025): Swedish director of highly personal experimental films who spent many years in the San Francisco Bay Area (My Name Is Oona; Red Shift).

Andrea Blaugrund Nevins (15 Mar 1962 – 12 Apr 2025): director, producer and writer of critically acclaimed documentaries (The Other F Word; Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie).

Robert A. Nakamura (5 July 1936 – 11 June 2025): pioneering figure of Asian American cinema as a director (Manzanar; Hito Hata: Raise the Banner), educator and co-founder of the media arts group Visual Communications.

Nishikawa Tomonari (1969 – 20 Apr 2025): Japanese experimental filmmaker who was long based in the US (Shibuya Tokyo; Sound of a Million Insects, Life of a Thousand Stars).

Marcel Ophuls (1 Nov 1927 – 24 May 2025): French-German filmmaker who explored the legacy of Nazism in a series of documentaries (The Sorrow and the Pity; The Memory of Justice; Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie).

Amos Poe (30 Sept 1949 – 25 Dec 2025): brought a punk aesthetic to underground filmmaking as a pioneer of New York City’s No Wave Cinema movement (The Blank Generation; Unmade Beds).

Rosa von Praunheim (25 Nov 1942 – 17 Dec 2025): director whose provocative films often reflected his involvement with Germany’s gay rights movement (It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives; City of Lost Souls).

Rob Reiner (6 Mar 1947 – 14 Dec 2025): made an enormous cultural impact, first as an actor on TV’s All in the Family, then as a director whose early films helped define their era (This Is Spinal Tap; The Princess Bride; When Harry Met Sally…).

Michael Roemer (1 Jan 1928 – 20 May 2025): independent filmmaker whose work was rediscovered decades later (Nothing but a Man; The Plot Against Harry; 1984’s Vengeance Is Mine).

Renen Schorr (6 July 1952 – 26 Feb 2025): raised the international profile of Israeli cinema and founded the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School (Late Summer Blues; The Loners).

Eldar Shengelaia (26 Jan 1933 – 4 Aug 2025): Georgian director and satirist who shifted from filmmaking to politics during Georgia’s independence movement (An Unusual Exhibition; Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story).

Shinoda Masahiro (9 Mar 1931 – 25 Mar 2025): shook up Japanese cinema as one of the most important directors of its new wave generation (Pale Flower; Double Suicide; MacArthur’s Children).

Jeannot Szwarc (21 Nov 1937 – 14 Jan 2025): French filmmaker who often worked in Hollywood, including directing features that developed cult followings (Jaws 2; Somewhere in Time; Supergirl).

Nasser Taghvai (13 July 1941 – 14 Oct 2025): Iranian filmmaker (Tranquility in the Presence of Others; Captain Khorshid) who also directed the enduringly popular 1970s TV series My Uncle Napoleon.

Lee Tamahori (22 Apr 1950 – 7 Nov 2025): New Zealand director who helmed the breakthrough Maori drama Once Were Warriors and Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond swan song Die Another Day.

Lindsey Vickers (4 Oct 1940 – 2 Nov 2025): director whose sole feature, The Appointment, has only recently received wide acclaim after being lost for over 40 years.

Peter Watkins (29 Oct 1935 – 30 Oct 2025): director noted for his stylistically and politically radical work who went into self-imposed exile after The War Game was banned by the BBC (Punishment Park; Edvard Munch; La Commune (Paris, 1871)).

Monique Fortier (6 July 1928 – 18 Aug 2025): editor long with the National Film Board of Canada (The River Schooners; The Decline of the American Empire) who was also a director (The Hour of Independence).

William Steinkamp (9 June 1953 – 25 Mar 2025): film editor who started under his father Fredric (Tootsie; Out of Africa) and established his reputation as a solo editor on The Fabulous Baker Boys.

Lesley Walker (July 1945 – 2 Dec 2025): editor whose fifty-year career included collaborations with Richard Attenborough (Shadowlands), Terry Gilliam (The Fisher King) and Neil Jordan (Mona Lisa).

Don Zimmerman (1944 – 24 July 2025): editor on several films for Hal Ashby (Being There) who also worked on The Prince of Tides and many comedies (Galaxy Quest).

Michèle Burke (29 Dec 1949 – 26 Sept 2025): make-up artist who was celebrated for her work on Quest for Fire and Bram Stoker’s Dracula and her frequent collaborations with Tom Cruise (Interview with the Vampire).

Greg Cannom (5 Sept 1951 – 3 May 2025): make-up effects virtuoso who helped transform Gary Oldman into Dracula, Robin Williams into Mrs Doubtfire, Brad Pitt into Benjamin Button and Christian Bale into Dick Cheney.

Arthur Cohn (4 Feb 1927 – 12 Dec 2025): Swiss producer of award-winning features (The Garden of Finzi-Continis; Central Station) and documentaries (Barbara Kopple’s American Dream).

Frances Doel (15 Apr 1942 – 26 May 2025): executive and writer who was a close associate of Roger Corman for decades and also helped to develop The Terminator as an executive with Orion.

Paddy Higson (2 June 1941 – 13 Apr 2025): producer and executive who played a vital role in shaping the modern Scottish TV and film industry (That Sinking Feeling; Gregory’s Girl; Peter Mullan’s Orphans).

Per Holst (28 Mar 1939 – 23 Aug 2025): produced films for Lars von Trier (The Element of Crime) and Bille August (Pelle the Conqueror) and directed the popular Danish comedy Walter and Carlo Up on Daddy’s Hat.

Rob Houwer (13 Dec 1937 – 4 July 2025): Dutch producer who spent his early career in West Germany (A Degree Of Murder) and later worked closely with Paul Verhoeven (Turkish Delight; Soldier of Orange).

Stanley R. Jaffe (31 July 1940 – 10 Mar 2025): produced critical and box-office hits (Kramer vs. Kramer; Fatal Attraction; The Accused) and served two separate tenures as president of Paramount.

David Lazer (23 Jan 1936 – 10 Apr 2025): producer and executive on Jim Henson’s productions for TV (The Muppet Show) and film (The Muppet Movie; The Dark Crystal).

Frank Price (17 May 1930 – 25 Aug 2025): senior executive with Columbia and Universal who backed a long list of major hits (Ghostbusters; Boyz n the Hood) and at least one notorious flop (Howard the Duck).

Michael Schlesinger (4 Sept 1950 – 9 Jan 2025): oversaw restorations and repertory releases as an executive with United Artists, Paramount and Sony and was a frequent provider of DVD commentaries.

Charles Thompson (Mar 1960 – Nov 2025): producer who was a central figure in the British Black filmmaking community and founded the Screen Nation Film & TV Awards (1993’s The Collector; 1995’s Distinction).

Robert Verrall (13 Jan 1928 – 17 Jan 2025): Canadian producer, director and executive on animated, live-action and documentary productions (Cosmic Zoom; Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child).

Barry Michael Cooper (12 June 1958 – 21 Jan 2025): journalist turned screenwriter whose Harlem Trilogy shaped Black cinema in the 1990s (New Jack City; Sugar Hill; Above the Rim).

Jules Feiffer (26 Jan 1929 – 17 Jan 2025): cartoonist, novelist, children’s book author and playwright who also ventured into films, primarily as a screenwriter (Munro; Carnal Knowledge; Altman’s Popeye).

Roberto Orci (20 July 1973 – 25 Feb 2025): writer-producer who worked on several Hollywood franchises (Michael Bay’s Transformers; J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek; The Amazing Spider-Man 2).

Mark Peploe (24 Feb 1943 – 18 June 2025): screenwriter who worked with Antonioni (The Passenger) and especially Bertolucci (The Last Emperor) and also directed (Afraid of the Dark).

Gerard Soeteman (1 July 1936 – 16 May 2025): Dutch screenwriter whose association with Paul Verhoeven spanned from their TV days in the late 1960s into the 2000S (Turkish Delight; Soldier of Orange; Black Book).

Scott Spiegel (24 Dec 1957 – 1 Sept 2025): co-writer of Evil Dead II who was also a producer (Hostel franchise) and director (1989’s Intruder) and regularly had cameos in Sam Raimi’s films.

Tom Stoppard (3 July 1937 – 29 Nov 2025): wrote and directed the screen version of his classic play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and scripted several other films (Brazil; Shakespeare in Love).

Giorgio Armani (11 July 1934 – 4 Sept 2025): Italian fashion designer whose clothing became a movie staple following American Gigolo and continued through such films as The Untouchables and Inglourious Basterds.

Stuart Craig (14 Apr 1942 – 7 Sept 2025): production designer (The Elephant Man; The English Patient) who brought the Wizarding World to life with his work on all of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movies.

Phyllis Dalton (16 Oct 1925 – 9 Jan 2025): costume designer whose work enhanced epic dramas (Lawrence of Arabia; Doctor Zhivago), Shakespeare adaptations (Branagh’s Henry V) and the fairytale world of The Princess Bride.

Leslie Dilley (11 Jan 1941 – 20 May 2025): art director and production designer whose work on Star Wars, Superman, Alien and Raiders of the Lost Ark helped establish the visual style of those franchises.

Rosanna Norton (1 Oct 1944 – 7 May 2025): costume designer whose creations included Sissy Spacek’s prom dress for Carrie, the crew uniforms for Airplane! and the illuminated outfits for Tron.

Theodor Pištěk (25 Oct 1932 – 3 Dec 2025): Czech artist who was also very active in films as a costume designer (Marketa Lazarová; Three Wishes for Cinderella; Amadeus).

Gianni Quaranta (30 Aug 1943 – 14 Sept 2025): Italian production designer who came from the theatre and opera and whose film work earned him an Oscar and two Baftas (La Traviata; A Room with a View).

Don Hall (10 July 1928 – 12 Mar 2025): sound editor who ran Twentieth Century Fox’s sound department, leaving his mark on M*A*S*H, The French Connection, The Towering Inferno and many others.

Bruce Logan (15 May 1946 – 10 Apr 2025): served as a key member of the photographic effects teams for 2001: A Space Odyssey and the original Star Wars, and was also a cinematographer, including groundbreaking work on Tron.

Chris Newman (17 Feb 1940 – 3 Feb 2025): sound mixer who was long a leading figure in his field and won Oscars for The Exorcist, Amadeus and The English Patient.

Douglas E. Turner (17 July 1931 – 5 May 2025): sound mixer who did noteworthy work on films for Lindsay Anderson (If….), John Boorman (Excalibur) and David Lynch (The Elephant Man).

Jeff Wexler (1947 – 9 Dec 2025): sound mixer who was a leader in the industry transition to digital recording (Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day; Almost Famous).

Renato Casaro (26 Oct 1935 – 30 Sept 2025): maestro of Italian poster artists who had fruitful associations with Dino De Laurentiis (Conan the Barbarian) and Sergio Leone (Once upon a Time in America).

Joe Caroff (18 Aug 1921 – 17 Aug 2025): artist who designed the iconic 007 logo for the James Bond pictures as well as numerous movie posters (West Side Story; Cabaret).

Susie Figgis (24 Mar 1948 – 12 Dec 2025): casting director who played a critical role in the success of such films as Gandhi, The Crying Game, The Full Monty and, perhaps most notably, the first Harry Potter picture.

Allan Freeman (8 May 1937 – 7 June 2025): marketing specialist whose innovative approach fundamentally changed the way Hollywood advertised films (The Omen; Star Wars; Rain Man).

Barbara Gips (10 July 1936 – 16 Oct 2025): ad writer who specialised in movie promotions and created the Alien tagline: “In space no one can hear you scream.”

David Keighley (12 Apr 1948 – 28 Aug 2025): longtime Imax quality officer who oversaw all of its film prints and worked closely with such directors as Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve.

Marvin Levy (16 Nov 1928 – 7 Apr 2025): Hollywood publicist who was closely linked to Steven Spielberg for over 40 years and was the first in his field to receive an honorary Oscar.

Robert McGinnis (3 Feb 1926 – 10 Mar 2025): illustrator who created classic movie posters (Breakfast at Tiffany’s; Barbarella), including several for Bond pictures (Thunderball).

Ronnie Rondell Jr (10 Feb 1937 – 12 Aug 2025): stunt performer and coordinator (How the West Was Won; The Matrix Reloaded) who was set on fire for the Pink Floyd album cover ‘Wish You Were Here’.

Dave Scott (15 Aug 1972 – 16 June 2025): choreographer who created acrobatic musical numbers for hip-hop dance films (You Got Served; Stomp the Yard; Step Up 2: The Streets).

Drew Struzan (18 Mar 1947 – 13 Oct 2025): illustrator who was one of the most revered poster artists of his generation (Star Wars 1978 ‘Circus’ poster; Back to the Future; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade).

Lynne Taylor-Corbett (2 Dec 1946 – 12 Jan 2025): choreographer for Broadway and the ballet whose most significant film credit was creating Kevin Bacon’s classic dance moves for Footloose.

Ronnie Yeskel (19 Mar 1948 – 4 Jan 2025): casting director noted for her work on independent films (Reservoir Dogs; Pulp Fiction; Bread and Roses).