Tony Rayns, the British critic, festival programmer and screenwriter who spent decades bringing East Asian cinema to Western audiences, has died at the age of 78. He was found dead at his home on 7 July after an accidental fall down his stairs, according to his sister, Stephanie Gowman, who said his death was unexpected and had followed a short period of no contact that had worried friends and family. His passing marks the loss of one of the most influential Western champions of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other Asian film-making.

Born in 1948, Rayns began writing for the underground publication Cinema Rising before joining the Monthly Film Bulletin in 1970 and contributing to Sight & Sound, Time Out, Cahiers du Cinéma and others. He ran the Dragons and Tigers competition for Asian films at the Vancouver International Film Festival from 1988 to 2006, served on juries worldwide, translated subtitles, authored books on directors such as Wong Kar-wai and Seijun Suzuki, and recorded commentaries for Criterion releases including "Chungking Express," "Seven Samurai" and "Parasite." Chinese director Jia Zhangke, a collaborator of 28 years, posted an emotional tribute, and Rayns's work earned Japanese honours including the 2004 Kawakita Prize.