Eastwood's first outing as a director was Play Misty for Me

US director and actor Clint Eastwood is to be honoured by his peers at the Cannes film festival.

The Society of French Film Directors will award the star with the Carrosse d'Or - or Golden Coach - in recognition of his talent and originality.

Eastwood will be attending the festival in the south of France to showcase his latest movie Mystic River, which is in contention of the prestigious Palme d'Or Prize.

He has been nominated for the award on four occasions but has yet to add it to the Oscar he won in 1993 for Unforgiven.

The Carrosse d'Or, which is named after a film by Jean Renoir, will be awarded to Clintwood at a ceremony on 23 May.

The Society of French Directors said Eastwood had "demonstrated a knack for invention, for great originality, for independence" throughout his career.

Murder

Eastwood began acting in the 1950s, going on to make his name as a brooding star in numerous Westerns including For a Few Dollars More and The Man With No Name.

He made the leap into directing with the thriller Play Misty for Me, which he also starred in.

Mystic River stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon and Laurence Fishburne in a story of friends reuniting following the murder of one of their daughters.

Other directors vying for the Palme d'Or include Gus Van Sant, Peter Greenaway and Japanese film-maker Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

The Cannes film festival officially opens on Wednesday with hundreds of screenings planned for the glamorous two-week event.