Martin Scorsese is set to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes.

The director will be presented with the award at the 67th annual Globes on 17 January 2010, reports AP.

The announcement was made on Thursday at a press conference in Beverly Hills, by actress Vera Farmiga who starred in his movie 'The Departed'.

Farmiga said filmmaking is a "a holy experience" for Scorsese.

"He has the power to rouse a crowd and bring them along on his holy mission. He considers it holy work, and cinema is his shrine. And he instills in the actors, in the crew, and everybody around him just what a powerful tool it is," Farmiga said.

Past winners of the DeMille award include Steven Spielberg, Warren Beatty, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Douglas.

Scorsese, who turns 67 next week, is an Academy Award winner for directing 'The Departed' and a two-time Golden Globe winner for the same movie and 'Gangs of New York'.

He's also been nominated for Oscars and Globes for movies like 'Raging Bull', 'Goodfellas' and 'The Aviator'.