ROME, May 9 — Peter Weir, director of cult classics such as The Truman Show, will receive a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Venice Film Festival, a statement from the festival said today.

"With a total of only 13 movies directed over the course of forty years, Peter Weir has secured a place in the firmament of the great directors of modern cinema,” the festival’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera, said.

At the 81st Venice Film Festival, beginning August 28, Weir will be honoured with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

The 79-year-old Australian filmmaker said in a press release that the festival and the award "are part of the folklore of our craft. To be singled out as a recipient for a lifetime’s work as a director is a considerable honour”.

Weir won two British BAFTAs for directing The Truman Show (1998), a satire on reality TV starring Jim Carrey, and Master and Commander (2003), a naval epic starring Russell Crowe.

He has been nominated for six Academy Awards for four separate films, including for best birector, best picture and best screenplay.

In 2022, he became the first Australian to receive an honorary Oscar. — AFP