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