Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan, whose film “Mommy” received the Cannes Jury Prize in 2014, will head the jury of Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.
“I am humbled and delighted to return to Cannes as President of the Un Certain Regard Jury,” he said in a statement. “Even more than making films myself, discovering the work of talented filmmakers has always been at the very heart of both my personal and professional journeys. I see, in this responsibility I’m assigned, the opportunity to focus with the members of the Un Certain Regard Jury on an essential aspect of the art of film : stories told truthfully.”
Dolan wrote, directed, produced and starred in his first feature “I Killed My Mother” when he was 19 years old. His second film “Heartbeats” played in Un Certain Regard when he was 21, followed by “Laurence Anyways” which played in Un Certain Regard two years later, tying for best actress for Suzanne Clement.
He went on to direct “Tom at the Farm” and “Mommy,” which was his first to play in competition in Cannes. He was a part of the jury chaired by the Coen brothers at the 68th Cannes Festival.
Dolan went on to make “It’s only the End of the World,” which won the Cannes Grand Pix, followed by “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan” and “Matthias & Maxime,” which played in competition in 2019.
The Cannes main competition jury will be headed by Greta Gerwig. The 77th Cannes Film Festival runs May 14-25. The official selection will be announced April 11.
