The Godfather and Appocalypse Now director will honor the iconic German filmmaker, director of Fitzcarraldo, Grizzly Man, and Aguirre, the Wrath of God on August 27 at Venice's Sala Grande during the Opening Ceremony of the 82nd Venice festival. Herzog will be honored for his life's work. On Thursday, Herzog will present his latest documentary, Ghost Elephants, out of competition in Venice and will hold a masterclass.

Announcing the award for Herzog, Venice film festival director Alberto Barbera said the New German Cinema pioneer "has never ceased from testing the limits of film language, belying the traditional distinction between documentary and fiction. A brilliant narrator of unusual stories, Herzog is also the last heir of the great tradition of German romanticism, a visionary humanist, and a tireless explorer."

Coppola will also be in focus in Venice this year, with the screening of Mike Figgas' Megadoc, screening in the Venice Classics - Documentaries About Cinema section, on Thursday. The film is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola's decades-in-the-making epic.

Coppola recieved a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 49th Venice film festival in 1992.