Famed UK producer Jeremy Thomas has been selected to receive Screen International's Achievement In World Cinema Prize at the European Film Awards.

At the European Film Awardsceremony on Dec 2 in Warsaw, ScreenInternational, the European Film Academy and EFA Productions will recognise Thomas as aEuropean professional who has made an outstanding contribution to the world offilm.

"The precious handful of truly creative producers rarely get the creditthey deserve for their contributions to filmmaking," said Screen International's editor in chief Colin Brown. "Which is why we at the magazine areso proud to see Jeremy receive ScreenInternational's Achievement in World Cinema prize at this year's EuropeanFilm Awards. Jeremy is the very embodiment of the creative producer:forever flying in the face of the prevailing commercial winds, hehassomehow spurred and shepherded a memorable array of singular films from allcorners of the filmmaking globe. World cinema is all the richer for JeremyThomas' defiant taste and courage."

Thomas has been a producerfor more than three decades, working on films including Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, JonathanGlazer's Sexy Beast, Phillip Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence, David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch, and BernardoBertolucci's The Last Emperor, whichwon nine Oscars. His recent prouctions include Bertolucci's The Dreamers, Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation, David Mackenzie's Young Adam and Wim Wenders' Don't ComeKnocking.

Thomas made his directorialdebut with 1998's All TheLittle Animals, which stars Christian Bale and John Hurt.

Thomas is currently workingwith Bertolucci on the big-screen adaptation of Ann Patchett's novel Bel Canto, inspired by the hostagecrisis at the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru in 1996. He is also one of the producers on HarmonyKorine's Mr. Lonely, which starsDiego Luna as a Michael Jackson look-a-like.