Bertolucci to be honored at Cannes

CANNES, France, April 13 (UPI) -- Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci is to be presented with an Honorary Palme d'or during the opening ceremony of France's Festival de Cannes, organizers said.

"This recognition is attributed to an important filmmaker, whose work is authoritative but never got a Palme d'or," a statement on the festival's Web site said Monday. "In the recent past, Woody Allen, in 2002, or Clint Eastwood, in 2009, were awarded this distinction by President Gilles Jacob, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Festival de Cannes. Now, the act becomes tradition and will be annual, taking place at the opening of the event."

Bertolucci's credits include "Before the Revolution," "1900," "The Conformist," "Last Tango in Paris" and "The Last Emperor."

"The quality of his work, which appears today in all its uniqueness and the extent of this work we perceive every day more vividly, the strength of his commitment to cinema and the ties that bind him to Cannes, make Bernaldo Bertollucci the first legitimate recipient," Jacob said in a statement.

Bertolucci, 71, is to receive the Honorary Palme May 11 at the festival, in the presence of the jury chaired by Robert De Niro, who was one of the stars of "1900."