Oscar winning director Luis Puenzo dies at 80

*Updated on April 21 to include a statement by the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo Oscar winning director, screenwriter and producer Luis Puenzo died on Monday in Buenos Aires, at the age of 80.The director of The Official Story and former head of Argentinas National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) had suffered health issues during the last years and had stopped filming. The news was informed by Author’s Rights chamber Argentores. “It is with deep sorrow that we bid farewell to Luis Puenzo. Argentores extends its condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time,” the organization stated. The National Secretariat of Culture posted a farewell on its social media paying tribute to “a key director and screenwriter of Argentine cinema, whose work had an impact on the international projection of our cinematography.” His landmark film Puenzo was internationally renowned for directing The Official Story (La historia oficial), the country’s first film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986. Puenzo also received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for the script he co-wrote with Ada Bortnik. The movie addresses the impact of the last military dictatorship (1976-1983) and the tragedy of the children of disappeared people who were abducted by the military during that period. The film stars Norma Aleandro as an upper-class woman who suspects her adopted daughter might be the child of disappeared parents.  When he won his historic trophy, Puenzo said: As I stand here on this stage, accepting this honor, I cannot help but recall that on another March 24th, ten years ago today, we suffered the last military coup in our country. We will never forget that nightmare, but now we are beginning to have new dreams. Thank you. Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, the organization that continues to seek the abducted children disappeared victims, bid their farewell to Puenzo in a statement published on Tuesday, and said his film brought the plight of the abducted children to the world’s attention and contributed enormously to raise awareness on the Grandmothers’ search. Luis Puenzo and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo president Estela de Carlotto We should stress that, at that time, a segment of society questioned the legitimacy of the return of the grandchildren as well as the very value of the right to identity. The Official Story helped many people understand the abhorrent nature of the crime of abduction, they wrote. Puenzo’s film was awarded at the Cannes Film Festival, won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and received the Silver Condor Award from the Argentine Film Critics Association. During his career, Puenzo developed a highly influential career in Argentine cinema. He filmed Gringo viejo in 1989, an adaptation of the novel by Carlos Fuentes, an international production starring Jane Fonda, Gregory Peck, and Jimmy Smits, set during the years of the Mexican Revolution.  Also La peste en 1992, based on the novel by Albert Camus, starring William Hurt, Robert Duvall, and Ral Juli.Puenzo also produced The Fish Child and Wakolda (directed by his daughter, writer and filmmaker Luca Puenzo) and his son Nicols Puenzo’s films The Lighthouse of the Orcas and The Last Ones, as well as Benjamn vila’s dictatorhip drama Clandestine Childhood and Gianfranco Quattrini’s Mother Plant. In addition to his role as a writer and director, he was actively involved in Argentine audiovisual policy. In 1994, he participated in drafting Argentinas Film Law, which established the autonomy of INCAA and its funding mechanisms, thus boosting film production. He was also one of the founding members of the Argentine Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences in 2004, and from late 2019 to April 2022, he served as president of INCAA.