MUMBAI: Renowned documentary filmmaker Dr S Krishnaswamy (of Krishnaswamy Associates of Chennai) has won the US International Film & Video Festival's lifetime achievement award this year. Krishnaswamy is the first-ever filmmaker from the Afro-Asian region to be selected for this honour.

He was awarded in absentia at the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel in Los Angeles along with other annual awards.

Krishnaswamy's major works include Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi, INDIA 5555 and Reality Behind Religion, which includes interviews with the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Swami Ranganathananda and Acharya Tulsi.

Into its 38th year, the US International Film & Video Festival is one of the world's largest competitions for television documentary, industrial and informational productions.