Ang Lee

Ang Lee was born on October 23, 1954, in Pingtung, Taiwan. After studying theater in Taiwan, he moved to the United States to study film production at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he collaborated with classmate Spike Lee. After years of quiet persistence, Lee burst onto the international stage with his Father Knows Best trilogy: 'Pushing Hands', 'The Wedding Banquet', and the critically revered 'Eat Drink Man Woman'.

Lee demonstrated astonishing cross-cultural storytelling virtuosity by directing the acclaimed 1995 Jane Austen adaptation 'Sense and Sensibility'. In 2000, his martial arts masterpiece 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' won four Academy Awards and became the highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history. Lee made Oscar history by winning Best Director for 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005) and repeated the triumph with the visual and philosophical marvel 'Life of Pi' (2012).

Celebrated for his nuanced handling of repressed emotion, cultural dislocation, and technological innovation, Ang Lee is widely regarded as an indispensable bridge between Eastern philosophy and Western cinematic storytelling.