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The film world was in mourning today, after losing two of its most acclaimed directors in the space of 24 hours.
Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman, 89, died at his Baltic home on the island of Fårö early on Monday, while 94-year-old Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni passed away at his home in Italy on the same evening.
Bergman - famed for his portayal of angst in family life - received nine Oscar nominations for films including Fanny And Alexander (which took home four statuettes), Wild Strawberries and Cries And Whispers. He is, howevever, probably best remembered for the much-parodied game of chess in The Seventh Seal - currently enjoying a 50th anniversary re-release in UK cinemas.
Antonioni, meanwhile, was best known for his arthouse murder thriller Blowup, which netted him two Oscar nominations. The director, whose work spanned seven decades, received an Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1995.
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Both directors kept working in recent years, with Bergman producing his final film Saraband in 2003 and Antonioni contributing to short film compilation Eros in 2004.
Antonioni, who died childless, is survived by his wife, actress Enrica Fico. The five-times married Bergman is survived by nine children.
The funeral for Bergman has yet to be announced but Antonioni's body will lie in state at Rome's city hall, the Campidoglio, on Wednesday morning and his funeral will take place in his northern Italian hometown of Ferrera on Thursday.
