Cannes news

Wong Kar-Wai to head Cannes film festival jury

30 minutes ago

PARIS (Reuters) - Director Wong Kar-Wai will head the jury for this year's
Cannes Film Festival, making him the first Chinese chairman of the panel in the event's history, organisers said on Wednesday.

The Shanghai-born director of "In the Mood for Love" and "2046" won the Cannes festival's Best Director prize for "Happy Together" in 1997.

Wong made clear he saw the job as a challenge.

"Each city has its own language," he said in a statement. "In Cannes, it is the language of dreams. Yet it is difficult to judge a dream, much less compare it to another one."

Wong, who will preside over the 59th Cannes Film Festival from May 17-28, follows in the footsteps of directors such as
Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese and David Cronenberg.

The president of the 2005 jury, Yugoslav director Emir Kusturica, cast a shadow over the annual cinema extravaganza in the French Riviera resort city last year, saying the quality of movies at the festival had fallen short of expectations.

"There is an old Chinese saying: One can never expect the wind, but should always keep one's window open," said Wong.

"Along with my fellow jurors, I look forward to sharing the dreams created by some of the most gifted talents in contemporary cinema. And our goal will be to keep our windows open as wide as possible."