Rome, May 3 (IANS/EFE): US director William Friedkin, creator of films such as "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection", will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at this year's Venice Film Festival, organizers said Thursday.

The award is to be presented to Friedkin, 77, during the Aug 28-Sep 7 event, which will also feature a screening of a restored version of his 1977 film "Sorcerer".

"Venice, especially during the film festival, is a spiritual home to me," Friedkin said in a statement. "The Golden Lion is something I never expected but am proud to accept it with gratitude and love."

He described "Sorcerer" as both the most personal of his roughly three-dozen films and the one that was "the most difficult to achieve".

Alberto Barbera, now in his second year as the festival's artistic director, said Friedkin has "contributed in a prominent way - the revolutionary impact of which has not always been recognized - to the profound renewal of American cinema regarded as the 'New Hollywood'."

Friedkin's "Killer Joe" was screened in competition during the 2011 Venice Film Festival.