Latcho Drom director Tony Gatlif dies aged 77

Film-maker acclaimed for his celebrations of Roma culture had been working on a ‘historical film project’ in Provence

Tony Gatlif, the French director of more than 20 films that mostly concentrated on celebrating Roma culture across the world, has died aged 77.

His family said in a statement to AFP that Gatlif died on Wednesday of “a health issue” while working on a “historical film project” in Arles in Provence, France . “The beauty of his films, his generosity, his joy, his poetry, and his love of music will remain with us forever.”

The statement, from his wife, children and grandchildren wished him “ Latcho Drom ”, a Roma phrase meaning “safe journey”.

Latcho Drom is also the title of Gatlif’s breakthrough 1993 film, a celebration of Roma music that moves from India to Spain, and which won the Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes film festival that year.

Gatlif had more success in 1997 with Gadjo Dilo, which featured Romain Duris as a Frenchman who is searching for a Roma singer in Romania; it won a Silver Leopard at the Locarno film festival and a César award for best original music.

Gatlif was born Michel Dahmani in 1948 in Algeria, of part Berber and part Roma heritage. He left Algeria for France in 1960 during the Algerian war of independence and had a tough life as a rootless teenager, telling AFP: “I used to be violent; you didn’t want to mess with me; I was a bad kid … I wouldn’t listen to anyone; to me, adults – everyone – were enemies.” He changed his name to Gatlif, after a park in Algiers, after being stopped by the police as a 12-year-old.

Among his later films, Exils , also starring Duris, explored his Algerian heritage, and won the best director award at Cannes in 2004.

Catherine Pégard, France’s minister of culture said that Gatlif “had a fondness for the road less travelled, for blurring borders, and for lives that too often go unnoticed”. She added: “He filmed music, movement, exile, and freedom with an energy that was uniquely his own.”