English Patient director passes away

Academy Award winning director Anthony Minghella has passed away.

News of the British filmmaker's death, aged 54, was given by his agent, agencies said.

The 1996 Best Director Oscar-winner for The English Patient, Minghella chaired the British Film Institute.

A writer-director, his other films include The Talented Mr Ripley, Truly Madly Deeply and Cold Mountain, among others.

Currently working as one of the directors on the multi-film project New York, I Love You, Minghella leaves behind a TV episode of The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, based on the novel by Alexander McCall Smith.

He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Choa, a Hong Kong-born choreographer, and his son, Max, an actor.

Photograph: Getty Images