Festival gives Maverick Director Award to prolific Japanese director

The Japanese director, screenwriter, actor, and film producer Takashi Miike is to receive the 2014 Maverick Director Award during the ninth Rome Film Festival.

Miike will accept the award on the occasion of the world premiere of his latest film, Kamisama no iutoori (As the Gods Will).

Organisers say the award is dedicated to filmmakers "who have contributed to the invention of a new, original, and unconventional cinema" while the festival's artistic director Marco Müller described Miike as a "prolific, nomadic, versatile, stubborn, unnerving (and at times melancholy)" director.

The Rome Film Festival runs at the Auditorium Parco della Musica from 16-25 October.