Paul Cox Dies: Australian Indie Film Legend Passes Away at Age 76

Australian filmmaker Paul Cox has died at 76. Regarded as an icon of Aussie cinema — an especially impressive feat considering he was born in the Netherlands and didn’t make his way Down Under until he was 25 — Cox directed a total of 31 feature films: 12 documentaries and 19 narratives. “Innocence,” “Man of Flowers” and “A Woman’s Tale” were among his best-known works. No cause of death has been given, though Cox did survive cancer in 2009 after receiving a liver transplant.

As noted in a comprehensive RogerEbert.com tribute, Cox once said in an interview that “to also realize we’re going to die one day, to ask questions about death is very important because that makes you more alive and it makes you more of a decent human being.” Full name Paulus Henrique Benedictus Cox, he was born on April 16, 1940 in Venlo and had a well-established career as a photographer before transitioning to filmmaking.

Cox’s most recent film as writer/director was the semi-autobiographical “Force of Destiny,” which starred David Wenham as a cancer survivor and was released last year.

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