“Il Divo” director Paolo Sorrentino will head the 2009 Un Certain regard jury at the Cannes Film Festival, it was announced today. Sorrentino, who’s “Il Divo” won the Jury Prize in the program last year, will be surrounded by Julie Gayet (actress, France), Piers Handling (director of the Toronto International Film Festival, Canada), Uma Da Cunha (journalist and festival programmer, India) and Marit Kapla (journalist, Goeteborg Festival, Sweden). The opening film of Un Certain Regard, is Thursday May 14th in the Salle Debussy, will be Nobody Knows About The Persian Cats, directed by the Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi.
The festival also announced the Camera d’Or jury, which will be presided by the French actor Roschdy Zem. Zem will oversee a jury that includes Diane Baratier (cinematographer), Olivier Chiavassa (Federation of Film Technicians), Sandrine Ray(director), Charles Tesson (Critics’ Syndicate) Edouard Waintrop (Fribourg Film Festival, Switzerland). The Camera d’or, created in 1978, is attributed to the best first film chosen in the Official Selection, the Critics’ Week or the Director’s Fortnight. This year, twenty first films will compete for this prize which will be presented on stage during the Closing ceremony on May 24th.
Finally, Cannes made an addition its Jury of the Competition, with Indian actress Sharmilla Tagore completing the lineup presided by Isabelle Huppert.
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