Oscar-winning director Ang Lee has great hopes of getting himself another golden figure. He won Best Director Award at the just-released New York Film Critics Circle Awards. His film Brokeback Mountain also won for Best Picture.

 

The New York Film Critics Circle is the oldest critical group in America. It is comprised of critics from daily and weekly newspapers based in New York. The NYFCC awards are generally considered a precursor to the Oscars. 　

 

After becoming a hot favorite with the Golden Globes, Chinese-born director Ang Lee has proven himself again by winning Best Director and Best Picture for his film Brokeback Mountain in New York. 　　

 

An epic love story set against the sweeping vistas of Wyoming and Texas, Brokeback Mountain tells the story of two young men who meet in the summer of 1963, and unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection. 　　

 

The gay-themed movie aroused much controversy in the US but was welcomed by critics. Ang Lee says he never expected Brokeback to be a critically acclaimed film. 　

 

"When I was making the movie I didn't imagine awards or that a lot of people would see the movie. I thought it would be a lonely movie. Somehow we trusted the tale. We were doing a love story. Somehow we don't think about that anymore. When the movie is done we've gotten so much love and good will." 　　

 

In other categories, Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for the film Walk the Line and Maria Bello won Best Supporting Actress for her work in A History of Violence. 　　

 

Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai took home honors for the Best Foreign-Language Film for 2046. He regards the sci-fi film as an international one rather than one shot for the Chinese. 　　

 

"Well in fact to me it's like the film has been released all over the world. I don't consider the film here or there. It's like a family of audiences." 　　　　　

 

(CRI January 10, 2006)