The talented, multiple award winning Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has died at the age of 76 while undergoing treatment for cancer in France. The director had been suffering with ill health since March, but succumbed on Monday during his stay in a hospital in Paris.  

Abbas KiarostamiAbbas Kiarostami has died

The 'Certified Copy' director passed away yesterday (July 4th 2016) in Paris after a short struggle with what is alleged to have been gastrointestinal cancer. It became public knowledge that he was ill since March this year, when he was rushed to hospital for intestinal bleeding and an alleged coma; it was later revealed in some reports that he had been diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer, though the director of Kiarostami's medical team Reza Paydar went on to deny such a diagnosis back in April. However, it seems that it was cancer that killed him as he flew in to Paris from Iran to undergo treatment over the weekend.

Kiarostami is an internationally renowned filmmaker best known for directing movies such as 'Certified Copy', 'Like Someone in Love' and 'Taste of Cherry'. He is highly acclaimed for his movies, with various awards under his belt including the BFI Fellowship, the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival and the Grand Special Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival; in fact he is the only Iranian to have ever been awarded with the Palme d'Or. Throughout his 40 year career, he has worked alongside a range of international film stars such as the Parisian Juliette Binoche, fellow Iranian Homayoun Ershadi and Japanese actress Rin Takanashi.

More: Read our review of 'Certified Copy'

'He wasn't just a filmmaker', fellow director Asghar Farhadi told the Guardian. 'He was a modern mystic, both in his cinema and his private life. 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.'

Iran's ambassador to France Ali Ahani revealed in a statement that Kiarostami will be flown back to Iran, to subsequently be buried at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in southern Tehran where he was born.