Director Alexander Payne will receive the Vision In Film Award during the closing night of the Hawaii International Film Festival. 

Mayor Peter Carlisle will present the honor to the director and screenwriter of “Sideways” and “About Schmidt” during the festival’s closing night tonight.

Carlisle says Payne is clearly deserving of the honor. The mayor says he could not be more excited that Honolulu plays a leading role in Payne’s latest movie, “The Descendants.”

“The Descendants,” starring George Clooney, is based on a novel by local author Kaui Hart Hemmings and was shot on location in Hawaii. Clooney plays a lawyer and descendant of Hawaiian royalty.

The Hawaii International Film Festival screens films from over 45 countries each year. It was established in 1981.