Dutch director Fons Rademakers died last Thursday at the age of 86. He received an Academy Award in 1987 for his wartime thriller The Assault.

Rademakers died in a hospital in Geneva from lung emphysema complications. During his career, he directed 11 features, mostly based on Dutch novels. His most famous work of art is the adaptation of the psychological wartime thriller The Assault, written by Harry Mulisch. The film received the Oscar for best foreign language picture in 1987.

The Dutch director, born on Sept 5, 1920, began his career as an actor and a theatre director. In 1955, the government granted him financial aid to improve his directorial skills abroad. He worked as an assistant to Vittorio De Sica, Jean Renoir, Ingmar Bergman and Charles Crichton. In 1957 he returned to the Netherlands and decided to become a professional film director.

In 1960, he received his first Academy Award nomination for his debut feature Village By The River. In 1961, Rademakers was awarded a Silver Bear at the Berlinale for his second film That Joyous Eve. Three following features were selected for competition in the Cannes: The Knife (1961), Like Two Drops Of Water (1963) and Mira (1971). However, the director never won a Golden Palm.

The Assault (1986) was his latest important film. An American project about racism within the African peacecorps, it never got off the ground because of the controversial subject.

In 2003, Rademakers got a special tribute at the Dutch Filmfestival. He then stated to be 'happy that people loved to see my movies in the old days. But who will remember Fons Rademakers in another century' Eternal fame is for major artists like Shakespeare, Michelangelo or Rembrandt. I do not believe I will be one of them.'

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