The Cannes Film Festival has announced the eight members of the main Competition jury for its 76th edition, set to run from May 16-27. Joining previously announced president Ruben Östlund are a diverse group of filmmakers and actors, most of whom have strong connections to Cannes.
The jury members are Moroccan director Maryam Touzani, French actor Denis Ménochet, British-Zambian screenwriter and director Rungano Nyoni, American actress, director, and producer Brie Larson, American actor and director Paul Dano, Afghan writer and filmmaker Atiq Rahimi, Argentinian director and screenwriter Damián Szifrón, and French director Julia Ducournau.
Touzani has collaborated on her husband Nabil Ayouch’s films, including Much Loved, and made her feature directorial debut at Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2019 with Adam. She returned to the section in 2022 with The Blue Caftan, which was on the Oscars long-list for Best International Film.
Ménochet’s Cannes credits include Quentin Tarantino’s Palme d’Or contender Inglourious Basterds (2009), Rebecca Zlotowski’s Grand Central (Un Certain Regard, 2013), Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch (Competition, 2021), and Beasts (Cannes Premiere, 2022).
Nyoni gained international recognition at Cannes in 2017 with her first feature, I’m Not A Witch, which stormed parallel section Directors’ Fortnight and was developed with the support of La Résidence du Festival.
Larson, best known for her role in Room (2015) and Captain Marvel (2019), will make her first official trip to Cannes as a jury member. Her presence is sure to draw attention, as her countless projects have been financed up and down the Croisette.
Dano’s career includes memorable performances in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), There Will Be Blood (2007), and Twelve Years A Slave (2013). His Cannes titles include Competition entries Youth (2015) and Okja (2017).
Rahimi, a Kabul-born writer and filmmaker and long-time French resident, made his Cannes debut in Un Certain Regard in 2004 with Earth And Ashes, which he adapted from his own book. His subsequent films include The Patience Stone and Our Lady Of The Nile.
Szifrón, who broke out internationally as a director in 2014 with Pedro Almodóvar-produced Cannes Competition title Wild Tales, which was Oscar-nominated the following year. He has since directed the police thriller To Catch A Killer, starring Shailene Woodley.
Ducournau won the Palme d’Or in 2021 for her film Titane, becoming only the second woman in the festival’s history to achieve this feat after Jane Campion. She broke out in Critics’ Week with her first feature, Raw, in 2016.
The Jury’s task is to award the Palme d’Or to one of the 21 films in Competition, with the decision unveiled at the awards ceremony on May 27, followed by the closing film Elemental. The diverse makeup of the jury should make for a fascinating competition and a variety of perspectives on the competing films.