Wajda will attend the December 12 ceremony in Bochum, Germany, to receive the prize.

In a statement, FIPRESCI's General Secretary Klaus Eder said, "For us critics it is without doubt a big pleasure to honour Wajda, who wrote European film history already with his first films (GENERATION, KANAL, ASHES AND DIAMONDS) and who has influenced generations of filmmakers. We are therefore pleased and honoured to show him all our respect as critics. Our award also honours his latest film TATARAK. It's not at all what you would call a later work - it is, on the contrary, the film of a young spirit, with which Wajda in a risky and courageous way undertakes to open new and very personal perspectives for the European authors' cinema of today."