Overview
- Marcel Ophüls, acclaimed French documentarian and son of filmmaker Max Ophüls, passed away on May 24, 2025, at the age of 97.
- 'Le Chagrin et la Pitié,' Ophüls' groundbreaking 1971 documentary, challenged France's post-WWII self-image and was banned from French television until 1981.
- He won an Oscar in 1989 for 'Hotel Terminus,' an investigation into Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and his post-war protectors.
- Ophüls' work was marked by a rigorous documentary style that blended personal interviews, archival footage, and sharp historical critique.
- At the time of his death, he was finalizing a film addressing the rise of far-right movements and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reflecting his lifelong engagement with political and historical themes.