Spain's most celebrated contemporary arthouse director, Pedro Almodóvar , will be recognized by the nation's top film festival, San Sebastian, with the Donostia Award for lifetime achievement on September 26.

Having previously bestowed the Donostia Award on prominent figures like Antonio Banderas, Al Pacino, and Woody Allen, Almodóvar will now receive this esteemed honor himself. He joins fellow 2024 recipient Cate Blanchett in receiving this recognition.

In addition to receiving the award, Almodovar will present his latest film, “The Room Next Door” which will play as a Donostia Award screening after world premiering at Venice on Sept. 2.

Almodóvar's connection to San Sebastian dates back to 1980 with “Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón,” which gained recognition at that year's festival. It was championed by Diego Galán, a critic for the Spanish newspaper El País and the artistic director of the San Sebastian Film Festival between 1986-89 and 1995-2000. Almodóvar's subsequent film, “Labyrinth of Passions,” was also featured in competition at San Sebastian.

“My career began in San Sebastian in 1980, and since then, I have regularly returned to the festival, whether or not I had a film screening. I have always had a wonderful time there,” Almodóvar said in response to today's announcement. “I have awarded the Donostia Award to Al Pacino, Woody Allen, and Antonio Banderas. This year, they are presenting it to me, and I am both delighted and grateful. It truly is an honor. San Sebastian is one of the cities where cinema is celebrated with immense enthusiasm. More than ever, in these times, we need the collaboration of viewers and their presence in movie theaters. It's a dream to attend a festival like this, where the cinemas are consistently packed.”

In addition to the recent announcement, San Sebastian Festival has released a selection of stunning photographs from the director's early years at the festival. These images, which can be viewed here , showcase Almodóvar alongside long-time collaborators, including the iconic Spanish actress Rossy de Palma.

Other Almodóvar films that have screened at San Sebastian, many outside of competition after premiering at earlier festivals like Cannes or Venice, include but are not limited to “F— … F— … Fuck Me, Tim!”, along with “The Flower of My Secret,” “Live Flesh,” “All About My Mother,” “Talk to Her,” “Bad Education,” “Volver,” “Broken Embraces,” “I’m So Excited,” “Julieta” and “Pain and Glory.”

Films produced by Almodóvar and his brother Agustín's production company El Deseo, frequently featuring Latin American filmmakers and co-produced with companies from the region, have also graced the San Sebastian lineup. Among them are Julia Solomonoff's “The Last Summer of La Boyita,” Damián Szifron's “Wild Tales,” Pablo Trapero's “The Clan” and Luis Ortega's “El Angel.” This year, Salvador del Solar's El Deseo-produced “Ramón y Ramón” will be showcased in the Horizontes Latinos section.

Almodóvar's films have garnered global recognition over the years, including a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for “All About My Mother,” a Best Writing, Original Screenplay Oscar for “Talk to Her,” and Academy Award nominations for his movies “Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” “Volver,” “Parallel Mothers” and “Pain and Glory.”

In 2004, his film “Bad Education” inaugurated the Cannes Film Festival. Two years later, “Volver” took home the awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actress, which was bestowed upon the ensemble cast including Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo and Chus Lampreave. Other films that have competed at Cannes are “Broken Embraces” and “The Skin I Live In,” the latter of which won the BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film.

Almodóvar has been the subject of a tribute at the Museum of Modern Art, earned the Jean Renoir Award, was selected for the David Lean Lecture and received honorary doctorates from Harvard and Oxford. He is also the recipient of the National Medal of Arts in the U.S., the Spanish Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, the Prince of Asturias Medal of the Fine Arts and the French Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honor.