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April 9 (UPI) -- Oscar-winning filmmaker George Lucas will be honored at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Organizers announced in a press release Tuesday that Lucas, 79, will receive an Honorary Palme d'Or at the 77th annual festival in May.
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Lucas, a writer, director and producer who created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, will be fĂȘted at the festival's closing ceremony May 25.
His 1971 debut feature, THX-1138, was his first film to screen at Cannes as part of the Directors' Fortnight program.
"The Festival de Cannes has always held a special place in my heart. I was surprised and elated when my first film, THX-1138, was selected to be shown in a new program for first time directors called the Directors' Fortnight. Since then, I have returned to the festival on many occasions in a variety of capacities as a writer, director and producer. I am truly honored by this special recognition which means a great deal to me," Lucas said in a statement.
Lucas is also known for directing the 1973 film American Graffiti.
Cannes lauded the filmmaker as "one of the greatest figures of contemporary cinema, a man with an extraordinary career, who brings together great entertainment and innovation, mythology and modernity and cinephilia and technology."
The 77th Cannes Film Festival will run May 14 to 25.
The Second Act, a French comedy directed by Quentin Dupieux, will open the festival. Other premieres include Furiosa and Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1.
