Schygulla to be honoured by the German Film Academy

German actress Hanna Schygulla, best-known for her extensive collaboration with the late German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, is to be recognized with the German Film Academy's lifetime achievement award at the German Film Awards in May, reported dpa.

Schygulla, 80, starred in Fassbinder films including "The Marriage of Maria Braun" (1979) and "Berlin Alexanderplatz" (1980). She also worked with other acclaimed European directors including Wim Wenders, Jean-Luc Godard and Fatih Akin.

"Hanna Schygulla is an institution of German and European cinema," actress Alexandra Maria Lara, the president of the German Film Academy, said in a statement on Wednesday announcing the award.

Schygulla has become an "icon of German auteur cinema with international appeal," Lara said, adding that "her unrestricted joy of acting makes her presence on the screen unique."

The award-winning actress was born in 1943 and lives in Paris and Berlin. She began working with Fassbinder in the 1960s, and their collaboration shaped German cinema and launched her to international acclaim.

Later, the film icon worked with European directors such as Volker Schlöndorff, Carlos Saura, Marco Ferreri and Margarethe von Trotta.

Schygulla can currently be seen in a supporting role in the Oscar-winning comedy "Poor Things" by director Giorgos Lanthimos.

The German Film Award is the most prestigious award for German film. The nominations are due to be announced on Tuesday.

Schygulla is one of the founding members of the German Film Academy. Last year, Schlöndorff received the honorary award.