Kim Ki-duk to Receive Hamburg Film Festival's Douglas Sirk Award

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COLOGNE, Germany - Acclaimed Korean director Kim Ki-duk will receive this year's Douglas Sirk Award at the 2012 Hamburg Film Festival.

Kim Ki-duk will receive the lifetime achievement honor on Oct. 4 at the international premiere of his latest feature, Pieta, which will screen at the Hamburg fest. The drama follows a debt collector who brutally mutilates people who cannot pay up.

Kim Ki-duk has developed a passionate fan base among art house fans worldwide with his ambitious, often extreme films. His work has been celebrated at numerous A festivals, including a Silver Bear in Berlin for Samaria (2004), a Silver Lion in Venice for Bin-Jip - 3 Iron (2004) and the Un Certain Regard prize in Cannes for his brutal self-portrait Arirang (2011).

"Kim Ki-duk is a director who is constantly questioning the art of filmmaking. Over the past few years, he has even questioned himself as an artist. We are delighted to honor this reflection," said Hamburg festival manager Albert Wiederspiel, who added that the director's latest, Pieta, is "an extremely Douglas Sirk-style melodrama."

It won't be Kim Ki-duk's first trip to Hamburg. The festival has had links to the Korean director since 2003, when it screened his feature Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and...Spring.

The 20th Hamburg Film fest runs Sept. 27 - Oct. 6.