Movie star Clint Eastwood is the winner of the best director award from the Director's Guild of America.

Eastwood received the prestigious award in Beverly Hills, California Saturday for his critically acclaimed film Million Dollar Baby, beating out fellow American director Martin Scorsese. He was nominated for The Aviator, a biography of the late billionaire Howard Hughes.

The 74-year-old Eastwood directed, produced, starred-in and wrote some of the music for his drama about a boxing trainer and reluctant mentor to a scrappy female fighter.

The award makes the veteran filmmaker the favorite to win as best director at next month's prestigious Academy Awards. He won a directing Oscar in 1992 for Unforgiven.

Directors Byambasuren Devaa and Luigi Falorni won Saturday in the documentary category for their film The Story of the Weeping Camel, which profiles the lives of Mongolian desert nomads. They beat out Michael Moore, nominated for his controversial Fahrenheit 9-11.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.