Allen with the award. (AP)

San Sebastian (Spain), Sept. 19 (Reuters): US director Woody Allen said his films were a cure for insomnia as he accepted an award at the San Sebastian film festival for his life?s work.

?When they told me... they wanted to give me a lifetime achievement award I felt I should not really accept because you know, after all, what have I actually achieved?

?I?m not a scientist or a doctor who has discovered some great cure and then I thought about my films and I thought that actually they were a cure for insomnia and I thought that I could accept the award in all conscience,? he said after receiving the prize from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar.

Allen?s new movie, a tragic-comedy called Melinda and Melinda, premiered at the festival on Friday. Starring Radha Mitchell in the double lead role, the film shows the interchangeably tragic and comic nature of life, but Allen, a self-confessed neurotic, says he can only focus on the tragedy.

?I have an extremely pessimistic outlook. To me the glass is always empty, not half empty, but completely empty... For me it?s tragic or extremely tragic.?

The 68-year old New Yorker, who has made more than 30 films including, most famously, Annie Hall and Manhattan, said he chose the name Melinda for his lead character because it was easy to type. ?I call her Melinda because I type my scripts and Melinda is easy to type so I can type it rapidly.?