Washington [US], December 11: Acclaimed filmmaker Ang Lee will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 77th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards, scheduled for February 8, 2025. Lee, the Oscar-winning director of iconic films like Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi, will be the 37th filmmaker in history to receive this esteemed recognition.
The announcement was made via the official social media channels of the Directors Guild of America. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented at the discretion of current and past DGA presidents, celebrating an individual’s exceptional contributions to cinema.
Lesli Linka Glatter, the current DGA president, praised Lee as “truly a master filmmaker,” highlighting his versatile and groundbreaking body of work. She commended Lee for fearlessly exploring a wide range of genres, from period dramas and comedies to superhero films and martial arts epics. “For over 30 years, he has consistently challenged himself, never repeating himself, and always achieving cinematic excellence,” Glatter said. She also emphasized Lee’s talent for crafting films with complex characters and captivating stories that resonate with audiences long after the credits roll.
Lee’s career began in the early 1990s with films like The Wedding Banquet, but his global acclaim grew with works like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, and Life of Pi. The latter earned him an Academy Award for Best Director. A DGA member since 1996, Lee has been nominated for the DGA Award for Feature Film four times, winning twice, for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000 and Brokeback Mountain in 2005. In 2018, the DGA also gave him special recognition for his contributions to American culture through his film and television work.
Expressing his gratitude for the honor, Lee said, “I am honored to be recognized in such an incredible way by my beloved Guild. To be given the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award is a momentous achievement for me personally and an opportunity to reflect on what my work has meant to this amazing community of my fellow filmmakers.”
The DGA Lifetime Achievement Award, first presented to Cecil B. DeMille in 1953, has been bestowed upon many legendary directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and most recently, Spike Lee. This prestigious award recognizes directors who have made extraordinary contributions to the art of filmmaking.