Acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami dies at age 76

Acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, whose 1997 film Taste of Cherry won the Palme d'Or, died Monday at the age of 76, Iran's official news agency reported.

IRNA says Kiarostami died in Paris, where he had gone for cancer treatment last week after undergoing surgery in Iran earlier this year.

He wrote and directed dozens of films over a career spanning more than 40 years. Taste of Cherry, which told the story of an Iranian man looking for someone to bury him after he commits suicide, won the top award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Kiarostami also wrote and directed Certified Copy, a 2010 film starring Juliette Binoche.

He was survived by two sons, Ahmad and Bahman Kiarostami, who work in multimedia and documentary film.