Daniel Schmid dies of cancer

Daniel Schmid, one of Switzerland's greatest directors, died this weekend at 64.

The news cast a pall over the film festival in Locarno, where he was a frequent participant: Daniel Schmid died Saturday night of cancer. The director from Graubünden will no doubt go down in history as one of Switzerland's greatest directors. His filmography of 16 films spanning 35 years included «La paloma» in 1974«, »Violanta« in 1977 with Gérard Depardieu, »Hécate« in 1982 with Bernard Giraudeau, and more recently, 1999's »Beresina« with Géraldine Chaplin. Schmid also directed several operas, such as Bellini's »I Puritani« in 1995, and Verdi's »Il Trovatore«, in 1996. Daniel Schmid was 64.