MUMBAI: The Venice International Film Festival will felicitate director Mani Ratnam, with the Jaeger-LeCoultre – Glory to the Filmmaker Award 2010.

In recent years, the award has honored other major world filmmakers: Takeshi Kitano, Abbas Kiarostami, Agnès Varda, and Sylvester Stallone.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre – Glory to the Filmmaker award ceremony will take place during the 67th Venice International Film Festival, to be held from 1 – 11 September, 2010. The ceremony is directed by Marco Mueller, organized by la Biennale di Venezia and chaired by Paolo Baratta.

The Venice Film Festival director Marco Mueller said, "Mani Ratnam used to make movies only in his native tongue, Tamil, but has been one of a handful of filmmakers to successfully handle the transition to the all-India market. One of the great innovators in contemporary Indian cinema, he helped introduce the auteur concept to contemporary Bollywood. His movies display precision and poise, and have always been removed from the bombast and bluster of mass-produced regional cinema. The lavish musical numbers in his films, some of the best-tailored in Mumbai and Madras in recent years, have influenced the style of many others. Ratnam’s most celebrated films have become part of the cinematic imagination of the sub-continent.”

On the occasion of the award ceremony, the 67th Mostra will present the festival premiere of Mani Ratnam’s forthcoming film Raavan, which will be attended by the director and actors Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram, and music maestro A.R. Rahman. Raavan is produced in association with Reliance BIG Pictures and distributed internationally, by Reliance BIG Pictures and IM Global.

“Raavan will enchant audiences with its stirring drama and entrancing musical sequences. We are proud to be hosting the festival premiere of this wonderful film, which will be presented at the 2010 Mostra in both the Hindi and the Tamil version,” says Marco Mueller.