Harry Potter star Alan Rickman will be honoured at Italy's Giffoni Film Festival later this year (14).

The Brit, famous for his role as Severus Snape in the wizard franchise, will be presented with the Francois Truffaut Award, named after the French filmmaker, in recognition of his stellar career.

He will pick up the award during the festival in Giffoni Valle Piana, south-west Italy, on 23 July (14).

The event is the largest children's film festival in Europe and previous honourees include Meryl Streep and Jessica Alba.