Born Gilberto Pontecorvo in Pisa, Italy. Leftist filmmaker who worked as a foreign correspondent in Paris, assistant to Yves Allégret, and documentarist before gaining attention with the grim concentration camp melodrama, KAPÒ (1960). Pontecorvo's best-known film is the THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1965), a gripping account of the Algerian rebellion against French rule. Shot in a grainy, neo-documentary style and featuring non-professional actors, the film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and remains a landmark political drama. Pontecorvo's only subsequent feature of note was QUEIMADA / BURN! (1969), another critique of colonialism set in the 19th-century Antilles. Perhaps because of its upscale production values and star cast -- which included Marlon Brando -- the film lacked the edge of Pontecorvo's earlier work. Subsequent directing credits include OPERACIÓN OGRO / OPERATION OGRE (1979, also writer), L'ADDIO A ENRICO BERLINGUER (1984), DANZA DELLA FATA CONFETTO (1996), NOSTALGIA DI PROTEZIONE (1997, also writer), UN ALTRO MONDO È POSSIBILE / ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE (2001), and FIRENZE, IL NOSTRO DOMANI (2003).  Nominated for Directing 1968: THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS  Nominated for Writing (Best Story and Screenplay written directly for the screen) 1968: THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (w. Franco Solinas) 2 nominations