Born and raised in Liverpool, the award-winning screenwriter and director died peacefully at home after a short illness.
Edge Hill made him an Honorary Doctor of Literature in 2015 in recognition of his contribution to filmmaking and the arts.
Vice-Chancellor Dr John Cater said: “It is with great sadness that I reflect on the loss of Terence Davies.
“Terence was, perhaps, the most influential British film director of his generation – certainly in his contribution to filmmaking as art. He was a reflective genius, looking back at his childhood, his life in Liverpool, Catholicism, and bringing those stories to life in ever more beautiful ways.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”
Terence established himself in the 1970s and 1980s with a trilogy of autobiographical films titled Children, Madonna and Child, and Death and Transformation, which put him on the cinematic map as one of the most original British filmmakers of the late 20th century.
He is perhaps best known for The Film of Time and the City, which reflected his experiences growing up in Liverpool in the 1950s and 1960s, using newsreel and documentary footage supplemented by his commentary voiceover and an inspiring soundtrack. The film was unveiled at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival to great critical acclaim.
He also won the Cannes International Critics Prize for Distant Voices, Still Lives and worked on films with stars such as Gillian Anderson and Cynthia Nixon. His most recent work, Netflix drama Benediction, starring Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden and Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi, explored the life of war poet Siegfried Sassoon.
October 10, 2023
