'Fifth Element' director Besson honoured with top French award

'Fifth Element' director Besson honoured with top French award

Film director and producer Luc Besson has been honoured with a top award in his native France for a prolific career that produced "The Fifth Element", among other blockbusters. The organisers of the Cesars, France's equivalent to the Oscars, said Besson had been awarded a Gold Medal at a small ceremony Monday evening for his "exceptional artistic and entrepreneurial contribution over the past three decades". Besson, 55, is best known for big budget action films such as "La Femme Nikita", "Leon: The Professional" and the sci-fi thriller "The Fifth Element". In France, his films are often described as "very Hollywood".