ROME, July 7 — US actor, director and producer George Clooney will receive a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Venice film festival, organisers said yesterday.

Clooney, 65, called the award “a tremendous honour”.

“It also probably means I’m old, but I’ll take it,” he said in a statement released by the annual festival.

This year’s edition will run between September 2 and 12 and the jury will be led by US actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Clooney, who is also known for his political activism and humanitarian work, is a regular at the gathering on the Venice Lido.

Clooney’s breakthrough role was in the medical drama ER. He has since starred in dozens of films, including Syriana for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor.

Venice festival director Alberto Barbera called Clooney “a complete and charismatic artist, impassioned and original”. — AFP