EXCLUSIVE: Three-time Oscar winner Ang Lee has been lauded with the Légion d’honneur (The Legion of Honor), France’s highest order of merit.
The Taiwanese born-American filmmaker was honored for his global contribution to culture and received the honor from the French Ambassador to Taiwan at a private ceremony.
“This order is the highest civil and military order of the French republic and is awarded not only for artists but for people who have made significant achievements in many different fields. In the case of Mr. Ang Lee we are talking about his global contribution to the world of culture. The decoration has been awarded by our former President along with the diploma that comes with it,“ said David Kibler, Head of Cultural Affairs at the French Office in Taipei.
Related Stories
Previous filmmaker honorees include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Redford.
Watch on Deadline
Lee was previously awarded with the “Chevalier des Arts et Lettres” (Knight of Arts and Letters) in Paris in 2012.
The filmmaker won Oscars for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for Best Foreign Film, Best Director of Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi.
2012’s Life of Pi was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning prizes for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score. In addition, the film received nine BAFTA nominations, three Golden Globe nominations and was named one of AFI’s Top Ten Movies of 2012. The movie grossed more than $600M WW.
Brokeback Mountain was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three including Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. Lee also won the Directors Guild of America, BAFTA, Independent Spirit, and Golden Globe Awards for Best Director, among other industry accolades.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon earned nine Oscar nominations and won four including Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration. Lee also won the Directors Guild of America, BAFTA, and Golden Globe Awards for Best Director, among other honors. The movie grossed over $213M WW.
Lee recently served as Chair for the 2020 Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards.