Quentin Tarantino receives London film critics' honour

US film-maker Quentin Tarantino has been awarded the London Film Critics' Circle's highest honour.

The Kill Bill director will receive the Dilys Powell award for excellence in cinema at the Circle's awards ceremony on 18 February in London.

"This is such an honour. I have always relished discussing my work with film critics," Tarantino said.

British film An Education leads the field with seven nominations, including actress of the year for Carey Mulligan.

Mulligan is also nominated for best British actress.

Cannes winners

The film is also up for British film of the year, best supporting actor for Alfred Molina, best supporting actress for Rosamund Pike and Olivia Williams with Nick Hornby nominated for best screenwriter.

An Education is a coming-of-age tale set in 1962 based on the memoirs of Lynn Barber.

French movie The Prophet is close behind with five nominations, including film of the year and director of the year for Jacques Audiard.

The hard-hitting drama, which tells of a young convict's experiences in a crime-ridden prison, received the Grand Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Austrian film The White Ribbon, which won the Cannes festival's prestigious Palme d'Or, is also in the running for film of the year, along with The Hurt Locker, Avatar and Up in the Air.

Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam war film Apocalypse Now recently won the Critics' Circle's best film of the last 30 years.

The London Critics' Circle has more than 100 members who write for newspapers, magazines and websites all over the United Kingdom.