Director Tim Burton, known for his offbeat films and frequent collaborations with Johnny Depp, will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award at this year's Venice International Film Festival.

Organizers of the world's oldest film festival announced this week that the U.S. filmmaker will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at this year's event. Past recipients include directors David Lynch and Clint Eastwood, composer Ennio Morricone and animation filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.

Director Tim Burton poses at the 59th international film festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 25, 2006.
(Francois Mori/Associated Press)

Festival director Marco Muller praised Burton, 48, as "the most imaginative child of the new age of cinema."

"More insolently pop than most of the contemporary new directors, and less eager for approval than most of the older ones, there is not a bankable Hollywood director with a flintier sense of cinema than [Burton],"  Muller said in a statement released Wednesday.

Burton's credits include Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Big Fish, Beetlejuice and Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

He is filming an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's hit musical Sweeney Todd.

The 64th annual Venice International Film Festival runs Aug. 29 to Sept. 8.

With files from the Associated Press.