Austrian film-maker Michael Haneke has won the prestigious Prince of Asturias award for the arts in Madrid.

The 71-year-old director beat 32 other contenders to take the $65,000 prize. It’s considered one of Spain’s highest honours.

The jury said of Haneke: “His penetrating, radical gaze on society has allowed him to explore uncharted terrain to become one of the leading auteurs of contemporary European cinema.”

Haneke’s latest film, Amour, tells the story of an couple coping with illness and old age. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film this year.

The Prince of Asturias award for the arts is given to an individual or institution whose work “constitutes a significant contribution to mankind’s culture heritage”.

Canada’s Leonard Cohen is a previous winner of the award.