Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 25 (IANS): Sohan Roy, a Forbes-listed entrepreneur from Kerala and who has a passion for getting noticed in the film industry through his unconventional contribution to humanity and the world cinema has now become the first Indian who has been awarded the honorary title of 'Knight of Parte Guelfa' in Italy.

The knighthood was conferred on Roy for his humanitarian and environmental protection efforts in business and movies.

The conferring ceremony took place early this week at the prestigious Basilica of Santa Croce and the Palagio di Parte Guelfa in Florence.

Some of the previous proud recipients are Pope Francis, Stefano Cordero di Montezemolo, Giannozzo Pucci di Barsento, Gualtiero Bassetti, Luciano Artusi, among others.

His notable works include the documentary "Black Sand" on ecological degradation and unscientific mining methods which got shortlisted in the Oscars.

The documentary is still going strong at various film festivals.

The movie "Mmmmm (Sound of Pain)", which he produced was indeed loud and clear about the message of environment protection. This movie brought to light many related issues like climate change in depth.

His debut documentary and film "Dams: The Lethal Water Bombs" and "Dam 999", respectively, focused on the negligence of environmental protection, the most destructive is the disasters caused by dams.

While the documentary received 23 international awards, the movie "Dam 999" was played in nearly 130 international film festivals and became the first Indian movie to get shortlisted in the Oscars.

A naval architect and marine engineer by profession, Roy and his team of designers and engineers have by now redesigned more than 1,500 ships with green technologies to reduce pollution.

Roy hails from Kerala and is settled in the UAE.