A poignant story of cowboys in love finally clinched Ang Lee the Oscar he missed out on five years ago, but the award left him disappointed and 'a bit surprised' at not winning the prize for best picture.
'It was a loss and a gain,' Lee said after being named best director for Brokeback Mountain. 'I was happy about winning but not being able to win the best picture award was a bit surprising. As the film's leader I hoped for an award for everyone involved in the film.
'The whole team is here. At most of the awards we won both best film and directing. We are used to that, so this is surprising. We hope we'll feel better tomorrow.'
Nevertheless, Lee was glad to be the first Chinese - and Asian - to win an Oscar for best director.
'Being the first Asian filmmaker to get this mainstream award, not a critics' award, means a lot for the industry,' he said.
The award gave Lee the recognition that evaded him in 2001 when the martial arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon managed only the Oscar for best foreign film, despite scooping best director titles at other awards.