Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, who won a screenplay Oscar earlier this year for 'Crash', have also been awarded the Humanitas Prize Feature Film award.
'Crash', which follows an assortment of characters through an eventful 36-hour period in Los Angeles, was cited for "its call to reach out with respect and compassion to all of our brothers and sisters."
British writer Richard Curtis took the prize in the 90 Minute Category for his Bill Nighy and Kelly Macdonald-starring TV film, 'The Girl In the Café'.
Acclaimed for its "clarion call to universal concern," it is based on last year's G8 summit.
A special award was given to the Al Gore-narrated documentary, 'An Inconvenient Truth', about the issue of global warming.
The Humanitas Prize was set up in 1974 to honour the work of television and film writers whose work "explores the complexities of the human experience and sheds light on the positive values of life".
