Spain's Pedro Almodovar to receive Academy film tribute

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar attends the Museum of Modern art's fourth annual Film Benefit in New York November 15, 2011.

(Reuters) - Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodovar is set to be feted with a retrospective of his work by the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in London, the Academy said on Tuesday.

The December 13 tribute will feature the "Volver" director in conversation with British director Stephen Frears ("The Queen"), British playwright Peter Morgan ("Frost/Nixon") and French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier.

Other participants include Almodovar's brother and producer Agustin Almodovar, Spanish film composer Alberto Iglesias and British director Sally Potter.

Parts of Almodovar's films will be shown, the Academy said in a statement.

Almodovar, 63, is known as a significant director in Spain's cultural transition after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

Almodovar burst onto the international scene with his 1988 Oscar-nominated film "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown." He won a best foreign language Oscar for his 1999 film "All About My Mother" and best original screenplay for 2002's "Talk to Her."

The Spanish director is known for his portrayal of human emotions and strong female characters as well as his longstanding collaboration with actress Penelope Cruz.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Marguerita Choy)