Ang Lee has made the cut. The two-time Oscar-winning director is set to receive the American Cinema Editors‘ 2026 Filmmaker of the Year honor at the Eddie Awards next month.
Lee earned Best Picture and Best Director Oscar nominations for his 2000 martial arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and later became the first Asian to win the Best Director prize, for his 2005 neo-Western Brokeback Mountain. He followed that with a second Academy Award for directing with 2012’s Life of Pi. His other helming credits include Gemini Man (2019), Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016), , Lust, Caution (2007), Hulk (2003), Sense and Sensibility (1995) and The Wedding Banquet (1993). His Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), The Ice Storm (1997) and Taking Woodstock (2009) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, as did Couching Tiger.
Lee — who received the DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award last year, is set to begin production on his next film, Old Gold Mountain, in the spring.
“Ang Lee’s exploration of our most closely held emotions has ignited an international passion for cinema for over 30 years,” ACE President Sabrina Plisco said. “The breadth of his filmography is unparalleled, ranging from the intimate and boundary-breaking romance of Brokeback Mountain to the epic drama of Life of Pi and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to even the pre-MCU Marvel film Hulk.”
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American Cinema Editors also said Wednesday that Emmy winning editor-director Arthur Forney and Oscar-nominated editor Robert Leighton will receive ACE Career Achievement awards at the 76th annual ACE Eddie Awards on Friday, February 27, at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
“This year’s Career Achievement Award honorees are equally exemplary,” Plisco said. “Arthur Forney was the backbone of post-production at Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment for more than 30 years, overseeing landmark series including Law & Order. Robert Leighton shepherded the editing room for American icon Rob Reiner across 15 films — including When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, and This is Spinal Tap — shaping some of the most enduring works in modern cinema.”
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ACE also revealed that Kim Larson, Managing Director and Head of YouTube’s Creator and Gaming team, will accept YouTube’s previously announced ACE Visionary Award that night.
ACE will reveal the nominees for its 2026 Eddie Awards on January 27.
From left: Kim Larson, Arthur Forney and Robert Leighton
American Cinema Editors