Francis Ford Coppola, director of such classics as The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, has won Spain’s Princess of Asturias arts prize for his outstanding contribution to the world of film.

The Princess of Asturias prize foundation described the 76-year-old Oscar-winning filmmaker as “an exceptional narrator” who holds a prominent position in the history of cinema.

“The figure of Francis Ford Coppola is essential in understanding the transformation and contradictions of the cinema art and industry, to whose growth he has contributed decisively,” the foundation said.

Coppola’s “explorations into power and the horrors and absurdity of war have transcended his artistic work and become collective and universal icons of contemporary imagination and culture,” the foundation added.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Coppola was brought up in New York and has won many film awards, including six Oscars, three for 1972′s The Godfather.

The 50,000 Euro (£37,045) Spanish award is one of eight Asturias prizes handed out yearly by a foundation named for Crown Princess Leonor, with other categories including social sciences, sports and scientific research.

The awards, formerly called the Prince of Asturias prizes, were renamed last year after Leonor became crown princess.

The prizes are presented each autumn in the northern city of Oviedo, capital of the Asturias region.