Posted: Mon., Nov. 2, 2009, 8:39am PT

Sidney Lumet to receive Fellini prize

Director to be given lifetime achievement award

ROME -- Helmer Sidney Lumet will be honored by Italy's Federico Fellini Foundation with a lifetime achievement nod in recognition of his prolific and daringly original body of work.

Lumet, 85, is expected to make the trek to Fellini's native Rimini on Saturday to receive the prestigious award. Previous recipients include Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski and Manoel de Oliveira.

The foundation will fete Lumet with a gold-leaf reproduction of a Fellini dream-inspired drawing during the course of a two-day (Saturday-Sunday) confab at which Lumet is scheduled to hold a talk about his rapport with Fellini's work.

Lumet, who has helmed more than 50 feature films, including "Serpico," "Dog Day Afternoon" and "The Verdict," received the 2004 honorary Oscar.

Italian helmer Pupi Avati, who is chairman of the Fellini Foundation, said Lumet was selected for this year's nod both because of his massive body of work and for "his ability to explore many potential possibilities of the film medium, by taking great risks."

The Fellini prize to Lumet falls on the 50th anniversary of the year "La Dolce Vita" was shot; anni is being celebrated with a huge Fellini exhibition in Paris.


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