Robert De Niro received the first honorary Heart of Sarajevo at the opening night of the 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival on Friday. The 72-year-old actor was presented with the lifetime achievement award for his extraordinary contribution to the art of film.
De Niro attended the event to present a digitally restored version of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, marking the film's 40th anniversary. In the film, De Niro plays a lonely, depressed former U.S. Marine who becomes a taxi driver to cope with chronic insomnia.
To honour the actor, hundreds of Sarajevo taxi drivers stuck posters of De Niro on their cabs, many depicting him with his hair shaved into a mohawk. Around 300 drivers participated, with more expected to join during the nine-day festival.
The Sarajevo Film Festival, the most important in the Balkan region, opened with 223 movies from 61 countries. It draws more than 100,000 people annually and has grown significantly since its beginnings during the Bosnian war.
Earlier in the week, De Niro was seen enjoying a holiday on the Corsica coast with his wife Grace Hightower and daughter Helen. He also had lunch with former Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher, who posted a photo on Instagram.
