(Berlin) The Berlin Film Festival will award American director Martin Scorsese a lifetime achievement award at the next edition in February, organizers announced Thursday.
The 74e Berlinale, the first major cinematographic event of the year in Europe, wants to pay tribute to “one of the most significant filmmakers in world cinema since the 1970s”.
The Italian-American star, of Sicilian origins and who grew up in New York, will receive an honorary award at a gala ceremony on February 20.
“For anyone who views cinema as the art of creating a story that is both personal and universal, Martin Scorsese is an unrivaled role model. His films have accompanied us as spectators and as human beings, his characters have lived in us and grown in us,” say the directors of the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian.
“It is a great joy for us to once again welcome a great friend of the festival and to present him with our most important prize of honor,” they added in a press release. The festival takes place in the German capital from February 15 to 25.
Aged 81, Martin Scorsese is renowned for making intense and visceral films depicting troubled and violent men. He has often collaborated with a small group of the industry’s biggest stars, including Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.
With more than 70 films to his credit, he notably won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1976 with Taxi Driver the Oscar for best director in 2007 for Infiltrators.
During the 73e Berlinale, it was the American Steven Spielberg who was awarded an honorary Golden Bear, where he also presented his most autobiographical film (The Fabelmans).