British television and movie director Antonia Bird died earlier this week. She was 54.
Bird, who directed such notable films as Mad Love and the horror flick Ravenous reportedly passed away on Thursday in London. According to a report by Entertainment Weekly , the director died from an “unspecified illness.” Details about her death are currently unavailable.
Although American moviegoers probably know her best for the aforementioned motion pictures, Antonia Bird received numerous awards for her work on British television over the years. According to The Guardian , the acclaimed filmmaker won a total of 10 awards during her career. This includes two BAFTA TV awards for the dramas Safe and Care .
Antonia Bird began her career in television, working on such British programs as EastEnders and Casualty . After cutting her teeth in the business on the small screen, the filmmaker made her feature film debut with the controversial 1994 drama Priest .
Starring actor Linus Roache, the film tells the story of a Catholic priest who’s torn between his religion and his secret life as a homosexual. The movie received numerous accolades upon its release and paved the way for her next project Mad Love starring Drew Barrymore and Chris O’Donnell.
Antonia Bird won plenty of praise from horror fans around the world with her 1999 effort Ravenous . The cult favorite tells the story of several soldiers at a secluded fort who stumble across a cannibal. Although the movie didn’t set the box office on fire, it remains a popular choice for those with a taste for dark comedy.
The filmmaker’s most recent credits include the British television movies Rehab , The Hamburg Cell , Cracker , and Off by Heart . Antonia Bird was reportedly working on the drama Cross My Mind at the time of her passing.
Fans of the acclaimed director mourned the loss on social media shortly after news of her death started making the rounds online. You can find some reactions below.
Jesus, Antonia Bird also died? Big fan of Ravenous, which has one of the craziest scores in movies. (And Priest is quite good.)
— Matt Prigge (@mattprigge) October 26, 2013
Shocked and saddened to hear about Antonia Bird’s untimely death. She was a bold and undervalued director. I wish she had made more movies.
— Philip Concannon (@Phil_on_Film) October 25, 2013
Devastated by the loss of Antonia Bird, one of my personal heroes. I knew she was sick but didn’t see this coming. She was just 54 years old
— Jovanka Vuckovic (@JovankaVuckovic) October 25, 2013
Wishing these tweets about Antonia Bird weren’t true. RAVENOUS has and forever will be a Once-a-Year movie around these parts…
— Lucky McKee (@LuckyMcKee) October 25, 2013
I adore RAVENOUS. One of my favorite movies of all time. So sad to see the director, Antonia Bird, has passed away.
— Brad McHargue (@BradMcHargue) October 25, 2013
Are you a fan of director Antonia Bird? What’s your favorite film by the late filmmaker?
[Image via Shutterstock.com ]
