David Lynch, the visionary filmmaker whose unique blend of surrealism, psychological complexity, and haunting imagery redefined the boundaries of cinema, has died aged 78.

“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” read a statement on Lynch’s official Facebook page.

“There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole’.”

David Lynch (1946–2025)

Born in 1946, in Missoula, Montana, David Keith Lynch grew up in a quintessentially American setting that would later serve as fertile ground for his idiosyncratic storytelling. His father, Donald Lynch, was a research scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and his mother, Edwina Sundholm, an English tutor. Lynch often described his childhood as “both idyllic and quietly unsettling,” a paradox that became a hallmark of his art.

Lynch’s interest in visual art led him to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where he began experimenting with short films as a way to bring his paintings to life. His 1970 short, The Grandmother, about...