Last movies

The honor, created in collaboration with Jaeger-Le Coultre and Venice organizers Biennale di Venezia, is dished out to “an artist who has left an original mark on contemporary cinema”.

Pacino was joined to Takeshi Kitano, Abbas Kiarostami, Agnes Varda, Sylvester Stallone and Mani Ratnam.

Pacino is to receive his prize on Sept. 4 during the 68th Venice International Film Festival which runs Aug. 31 through Sept. 10.

Venice Film Festival director Marco Mueller described Pacino as “an amazing director, whose experience is precious and original, and enriches the world of contemporary film.”

The ceremony is scheduled to precede the world premiere of Pacino’s third feature-length directorial picture, "Wilde Salome".

Billed as an unconventional feature documentary, Salome invites audiences into Pacino’s private world, as he explores the complexities of Oscar Wilde’s acclaimed play Salome, Wilde himself and the birth of a rising star, in actress Jessica Chastain.

“There is nowhere else I would rather debut "Wilde Salome" than at Venice, because of its rich artistic history. "Wilde Salome" is an exploration into the world of Oscar Wilde the artist and in Salome, the emancipation of a work that lives on” said Pacino.

"Wilde Salome" stars Al Pacino (Herod),  Chastain (Salome), and Kevin Anderson (John the Baptist), and is produced by Barry Navidi and Robert Fox, with "Salome Productions" and "Tripod Entertainment".