Abbas Kiarostami has died aged 76.
The Iranian movie director – who received the Palme d’Or award in 1997 drama ‘Taste of Cherry’ – passed away on Monday (04.07.16), after battling with gastrointestinal cancer in March this year, which saw him undergo a number of operations over the past few months.
Speaking about the loss to the Guardian website, fellow film-maker Asghar Farhadi said: "[I am] very sad, in total shock.
"He wasn’t just a film-maker; he was a modern mystic, both in his cinema and his private life."
And Farhadi has admitted Kiarostami "paved" the way for aspiring directors to come.
He explained: "He definitely paved ways for others and influenced a great deal of people. It’s not just the world of cinema that has lost a great man; the whole world has lost someone really great."
Meanwhile, celebrities have taken to social media to pay tribute to the award-winning film legend.
Comedian Omid Djalili has taken to Twitter to honour the late screenwriter with a heartfelt message. He wrote: "We’ve lost another one of the greats. Abbas Kiarostami, Palme d’Or-winning Iranian film-maker, dies aged 76 (sic)."
Whilst American director Ava DuVernay wrote: "If we X-ray humans, we can’t tell race. Our blood circulates the same, we feel the same." Remembering Kiarostami… (sic)."
The Tehran-born star had pursued a range of career paths, and worked as a traffic policeman whilst studying at the Tehran School of Fine Arts to help fund the course prior to his success in the film industry.
However, Kiarostami soon veered into advertising, which swiftly led him to create film credits, and directed him to discover his passion for the film industry.
Although the father of two – who had sons Bahman, 37, and Ahmad, 45, – was a success with sort films he made his breakthrough with the feature-length debut ‘Report’, which was swiftly followed by ‘Where Is The Friend’s Home?’.
Abbas Kiarostami has died aged 76
