Australian filmmaker Peter Weir, known for films like The Truman Show and Picnic at Hanging Rock, is set to receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the upcoming 2024 Venice International Film Festival, the festival organisers said in a statement recently.

“In his films, Weir combines reflections on personal themes and a need to reach as vast an audience as possible. Despite the diversity of the topics he addresses, it is not difficult to discover a constant in his daring, rigorous, and spectacular film opus: a sensitivity that allows him to deal with highly up-to-date topics, such as a fascination with nature and its mysteries, the crisis of adults in consumerist societies, the difficulties of educating young people about life, the temptation of physical and cultural isolation, but also the lure of adventurous impulses and the instinct for rebellion,” festival director Alberto Barbera said in a statement.

Expressing his gratitude for the honour, Weir said, “The Venice International Film Festival and its Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement 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.”

Emerging as a prominent figure in 1970s Australian cinema, Weir made a mark with his cult classics like Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Cars That Ate Paris. His domestic acclaim paved the way for international recognition with acclaimed films like Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously, which served as a gateway to Hollywood.

Weir's cinematic repertoire further expanded with timeless gems like The Truman Show and Dead Poets Society, wherein he skillfully intertwined personal narratives with a universal appeal.

Weir's Hollywood debut Witness in 1986 garnered him an Oscar for best director. His illustrious career was further highlighted by an Honorary Oscar Award in 2022.

The 2024 Venice International Film Festival is slated to take place from August 28 to September 7.