Following a year in which she beat every record with her film Barbie, the American director, screenwriter, and actress Greta Gerwig is to preside over the Jury of the 77th Festival de Cannes, which takes place May 14-25 2024.
ADVERTISEMENTGreta Gerwig, the American writer and director of 'Barbie', is to be the Jury President of next year's Cannes Film Festival.
The 40-year-old, who's also an actor, is the first woman to do so since the actrice Cate Blanchett in 2018.
Reacting to the announcement, Gerwig said: “I love films - I love making them, I love going to them, I love talking about them. As a cinephile, Cannes has always been the pinnacle of what the universal language of movies can be. Being in the place of vulnerability, in a dark theatre filled with strangers, watching a brand-new film is my favorite place to be. I am stunned and thrilled and humbled to be serving as the president of the Cannes Film Festival Jury. I cannot wait to see what journeys are in store for all of us!”.
Stellar success
Gerwig's nomination seals what's been the most remarkable of years for the filmmaker and the cinema industry. Barbie leads next year's Golden Globe nominations. It's this year's biggest box-office hit worldwide, making Mattel's doll an even bigger cultural phenomenon and Gerwig the most bankable female film director in history.
“This is an obvious choice, since Greta Gerwig so audaciously embodies the renewal of world cinema, for which Cannes is each year both the forerunner and the sounding board”, said Iris Knobloch, Festival President, and Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate. “Beyond the 7th Art, she is also the representative of an era that is breaking down barriers and mixing genres, and thereby elevating the values of intelligence and humanism.”
Gerwig, also adds another record to her considerable list of awards: that of becoming the youngest person to take on the task since Sofia Loren only aged 31 in 1966, and the second female director since Jane Campion in 2014; and the second American woman after Olivia de Haviland first female Jury President in 1965.
The 77th Festival de Cannes will take place from Tuesday May 14 to Saturday May 25, 2024.
The Official Selection will be unveiled mid-April 2024.
