French director Tony Gatlif passed away at the age of 77

French director Tony Gatlif, who left a deep mark on world cinema with his films about Romani culture and music, passed away at the age of 77. In the statement made by his family, it was reported that the master director died on Wednesday due to a health problem he suffered while working on a historical film project in Arles, France.

After the sad news, his family said goodbye to the director with the words "Latcho Drom", which means "Have a nice trip" in Romani.

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Born Michel Dahmani in Algeria in 1948, Gatlif came from a family of Berber and Romani origin. The master artist, who moved to France in 1960 during the Algerian War of Independence, directed more than 20 films throughout his cinema career.

The prominent achievements of Gatlif, who has gained great prestige internationally with his productions focusing especially on the identity, music and lifestyle of the Romani culture, are as follows:

Latcho Drom (1993): Won the Un Certain Regard Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Gadjo Dilo (1997): Won the Silver Leopard award at the Locarno Film Festival and the Best Original Score award at the César Awards.

Exils (2004): He won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival with the film starring Romain Duris.

The death of Tony Gatlif, known for his works that left their mark on the history of cinema, was met with great sadness in the international art community.