"This year we are giving the award to Gulzar. He is a poet, lyricist, filmmaker and a hugely talented person in the Hindi film industry, " Benegal, who is the festival chairman, told reporters here.
Brad Pitt-starrer "Moneyball" will Oct 13 open the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image's (MAMI) 13th Mumbai Film Festival, a Reliance Entertainment initiative, and it will be followed by screening of about 200 films during the eight-day gala.
Morgan Freeman-starrer "Dolphin Tale" will be the closing film.
"A feast of films awaits you at the 13th Mumbai Film Festival. We are extremely proud of the fact that Mumbai Film Festival is fast getting recognized to be the best international film festival in the country, " said Benegal, who is known for films like "Manthan", "Ankur", "Zubeidaa", "Hari Bhari" and "Welcome To Sajjanpur".
The festival will also pay tribute to legends Shammi Kapoor, M.F. Hussain and Mani Kaul with a special screening of their works.