Taiwanese film director Yang dies

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Award-winning Taiwanese film director Edward Yang has died at the age of 59 at his home in Beverly Hills.

Yang, who was born in Shanghai and became a US citizen, won best director at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000 for his film Yi Yi.

His depictions of modern Taiwanese life gained him a clutch of nominations from European and Asian awards committees.

Yang had suffered from colon cancer for some time and chose to keep his illness out of the public eye.

'Inspirational'

He trained and worked as a computer engineer until deciding to embark upon a career in film-making when he turned 30.

"On my 30th birthday, I suddenly said to myself, 'Damn, I'm getting old!'

"I realised that I had to change my life. I needed to start doing something that I could enjoy and through which I could feel fulfilled," he once said in an interview.

Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, who began his career on a Yang film and went on to star in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, said he was an "inspirational teacher in performance and one of the directors I respect the most".