BAFTA has announced that acclaimed director Ang Lee will be awarded an honourary fellowship at this year's Film Awards on Sunday 11th April.

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The Taiwanese director – whose works include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi – becomes the latest big name to pick up the honour, which is the highest individual accolade awarded by the organisation.

He joins an illustrious list of directors to have been honoured, with past recipients including Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.

Marc Samuelson, Chair of BAFTA’s Film Committee, described Lee as a "master of his craft" and said he was "thrilled" to present him with the honour.

"He is an incredibly versatile, daring and exceptional filmmaker who effortlessly moves between genres," said Samuelson. "His films have been truly ground-breaking both in terms of their technical expertise and for the subject matters he tackles.

"His pioneering work in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi and so many other titles not only showcase his technical ability and deep understanding of the filmmaking process, but also his ability to infuse every story – no matter how epic or simple – with humanizing characters we can all relate to on an emotional level through his exceptional work."

Lee said it was "a tremendous honour" to receive the Fellowship and highlighted the positive impact that working in the UK had had on his career.

"England has been particularly good to me in my career, especially with Sense and Sensibility, which was like a second film school for me," he said.

The BAFTA Film Awards take place this weekend, with the Craft Awards handed out on Saturday 10th April and the main show following the next day.

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Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight. For more film news, have a look at our Movies hub.

Authors

Patrick Cremona, RadioTimes.com's senior film writer looking at the camera and smiling
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.

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