Acclaimed film director Kiarostami dies at 76

Tributes poured in on Tuesday for Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, acclaimed as a "towering figure" in world cinema, following his death in France at the age of 76.

Kiarostami, who won the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for Taste of Cherry, was linked to the Iranian New Wave of the late 1960s and became one of the world's most revered directors.

His poetic parables of ordinary people's lives won him international acclaim, with legendary French director Jean-Luc Godard once declaring that "film begins with D.W. Griffith and ends with Abbas Kiarostami".

Following reports of his death late on Monday, there were conflicting reports about Kiarostami's illness, with some Iranian media reporting that he had suffered from cancer, while others said he had an intestinal disease.

ISNA reported that he had returned to Iran from his home in Paris to undergo several operations between February and April, before traveling back to France last week.

Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said: "Iran has lost a towering figure in international cinema".

Another of Iran's renowned directors, Asghar Farhadi, told The Guardian newspaper that he was in "total shock".

Iranian social media was awash with messages of condolence, with many sharing a picture of Kiarostami holding his Palme d'Or alongside Martin Scorsese.

Just last week, Kiarostami had been invited to join the Academy in Hollywood as part of its efforts to increase the diversity of its Oscar judges.

Born in the Iranian capital on June 22, 1940, Kiarostami studied painting at the University of Teheran before finding work as a graphic designer and director of commercials.

He joined the Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in 1969 as head of the film department, freeing him to make his own films.

Two years later, he released his first work, a short film called Bread and Alley, followed by the feature-length The Traveler in 1973, which confirmed his position as a pioneer of the "realism" school.

(China Daily 07/06/2016 page11)