Influential Spanish filmmaker Jose Luis Borau died Friday in Madrid, the Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences said. He was 83.
Borau had reportedly been suffering from throat cancer.
Though Borau, who was born in Zaragoza in 1929, only made a handful of films since his 1960 directorial debut "En el Rio," his talents were widely respected, and he received a Goya award for Best Director in 2000 for his final film, "Leo."
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Borau was also a screenwriter and producer, and acted in some of his films. According to the Academy, his other pursuits included editing the first published biography of director-producer Samuel Bronston and short-story writing. He also "dabbled in advertising," the Academy said.
Borau was probably best known for his 1975 drama "Furtivos" ("Poachers"), a film whose success, he later said, made him "a little sad."
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"Nobody is bitter sweet, but I'm a little sad," the filmmaker once said. "My scale is a bit like what happened to Orson Welles, who made great films after 'Citizen Kane,' but [people] just remember that title. "