Dame Judi Dench has said her eyesight has deteriorated so badly she is no longer able to enjoy watching films.

The Oscar-winning actor, 82, has macular degeneration, which causes the gradual loss of vision.

Dench, who was presented with the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film at the Santa Barbara international film festival on Thursday, previously told how the condition had left her unable to read scripts.

Jeff Bridges, who was presenting the award, said he would vote for Dench for an Academy award for her “brilliant” performance in Victoria and Abdul, in which she revived her role as the 19th-century Queen.

In response, Dench praised Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk as deserving recognition, though she admitted it was now difficult to enjoy the cinema.

“Because my eyesight is so bad now, I can’t actually see very much and so I do go but a friend of mine usually has to say: ‘He’s kissing her now’ or ‘He’s walking away’,” she said. “So a lot of things I miss – it’s not so much fun.”

Previous recipients of the annual honour include Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Quentin Tarantino and Harrison Ford.