Tim Burton has been honoured with the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement award at the Venice Film Festival.
The British film director was presented the award by his long-time muse and collaborator, actor Johnny Depp.
Upon receiving the gong, Burton said: "This is very special to me. It's the best honour I've ever received and it just inspires me to keep going.
"You grow up in Hollywood and that whole scenario and what you feel here is that there is just passion about movies. So that's what makes it special to me - it's not about business, it's not about finance, it's about just the love of movies."
The Nightmare Before Christmas director, 49, joked that the award was even better than an Oscar statuette, adding: "It's actually a lot more beautiful looking than a bald naked man."
Burton was attending the Venice Film Festival to unveil his latest film, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. A movie version of the acclaimed Stephen Sondheim musical, it stars Johnny Depp as the eponymous serial killer barber and Burton's long-term partner Helena Bonham-Carter.