Star Wars creator George Lucas will be honoured at the Cannes film festival, where he will receive the prestigious Festival Trophy.
The latest Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith, will receive its world premiere at the festival on 15 May.
Lucas will be given the award in honour of his career at a ceremony onboard luxury cruise liner Queen Mary II during the 11-day festival.
Past recipients include UK film-maker Ken Loach and actor Max Von Sydow.
He will become the 10th person to receive the trophy, which was also awarded to actors Sean Penn, Gregory Peck and Philippe Noiret, and actresses Melanie Griffith and Jeanne Moreau among others.
The festival’s artistic director Thierry Fremaux will present Lucas with the award following a film tribute to the film-maker.
Lucas, 60, attended the University of Southern California film school before making movies including THX 1138, American Graffiti and the original Star Wars film in 1977.
He teamed up with director Steven Spielberg on the Indiana Jones trilogy and in 1999 Lucas returned to direct three Star Wars prequels, culminating in Revenge of the Sith.
The five previous Star Wars movies generated nearly $3.5bn (£1.84bn) in global ticket sales.
Source: BBC News
