Film director Juraj Herz died

Juraj Herz, an internationally awarded Czech film director of Slovak origin, died at the age of 83 on April 9, 2018. His film The Cremator has been regarded as one of the greatest films ever shot in the former Czechoslovakia. Juraj Herz was born in Kežmarok, north eastern Slovakia, to a Jewish family. Despite converting to Catholicism, his family was deported to the concentration camp in Ravensbruck. After the end of WWII, Juraj Herz left for studies to Prague. The Slovak born director was awarded the Czech lion for his contribution to cinematography in 2009. A year later, he received the Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for his contribution to world cinematography. In January 2017, the late film director Juraj Herz was granted the White double cross order for extraordinary achievements in the sphere of culture and for promoting the Slovak Republic abroad.