American director and screenwriter Paul Joseph Schrader will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award this year at the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival, in recognotion of his outstanding contribution to the art of film, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

Schrader will receive the award in a ceremony on August 13th, which will be followed by a special screening of his The Card Counter film, starring Oscar Isaac and Tiffany Haddish.

The American filmmaker has written and directed over thirty films, including four collaborations with Martin Scorsese – the first of which, Taxi Driver, won the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. In 1978, he directed his first film, Blue Collar, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother. Later the same year, Schrader wrote and directed Hardcore followed by American Gigolo, Cat People, Mishima, and Affliction.

In 2019, Schrader was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for First Reformed, which he also directed. The Card Counter, which he most recently wrote and directed, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 2021 and garnered numerous awards and accolades.

During the Festival, Schrader will hold a Masterclass on August 13th, officially opening this year's Talents Sarajevo Masterclasses program. The session will be moderated by programmer and filmmaker Bianca Lucas.

The 28th Sarajevo Film Festival will be held from the 12th through 19th of August, 2022.