US Oscar-winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme departs aged 73

US filmmaker Jonathan Demme who directed 5 major Oscars winner ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, passes away at the age of 73.

Demme died in New York from cancer and complications from heart disease, media reported.

US actress Jodie Foster who played in ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ paid a heartfelt tribute to the director who departed this life on Wednesday.
“I am heart-broken to lose a friend, a mentor,” Foster, 54, said in a statement, adding, 'He was and will always be a champion of the soul.'

‘The Silence of the Lambs’ pulled off a swept of all 5 major Oscar categories (Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor and Actress)

Beside ‘Silence Of The Lambs’, Demme was best known for helming ‘Philadelphia’. The film grabbed an Oscar for US actor Tom Hanks.

Hanks wrote on the social media platform that 'Jonathan taught us how big a heart a person can have, and how it will guide how we live and what we do for a living.'

AG/AG