Italian horror master Dario Argento will be given this year's Ischia Legend Award, to be handed out July 14 at the VII Global Film & Music Festival.
''This is a special prize to an extraordinary artistic talent who has captivated the world,'' explained Giancarlo Carriero, the chairman of the Accademia Internazionale Arte Ischia, which has organised the festival together with the Naples provincial tourism bureau.
The 68-year-old director, whose horror-thriller films like Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Suspiria were international hits, will be feted at a gala evening at Mezzatorre di Forio, just below the sumptuous villa once owned by the late director Luchino Visconti.
Previous recipients of the Legend Award include Oliver Stone, Vanessa Redgrave, Giuseppe Tornatore and Giancarlo Giannini.