French Director and Palme d’Or winner Laurent Cantet passed away this Thursday at 63 from an illness. Cantet’s agency, UBBA, confirmed his passing in a report to Variety this Thursday. 

Cantet is perhaps best known for winning the Palme d’Or, the highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008 for The Class. The film is based on François Bégaudeau’s novel of the same name. The semi-autobiographical story is inspired by Bégaudeau’s time as a teacher in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Bégaudeau starred in The Class, bringing everything full circle. The film was the first French film to receive a unanimous vote for the Palme d’Or since 1987 and also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. 

Cantet studied filmmaking at the Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques in Paris. In 1999, after a stint in television, Cantet produced his first feature film, Human Resources, which won Best Feature Film at France’s national film celebration. The film follows a trainee as he begins working at his father’s factory. 2001’s Time Out followed a man trying to hide being laid off from his family.

Cantet will be remembered by his family, loved ones, and film critics for his incredible work focusing on the lower class.