Greta Gerwig, actress, screenwriter and director, notably of the hit film barbiewill chair the jury of the 77 in Maye Cannes Film Festival and she will be the first American director to take on these functions.
At 40, Gerwig is also the youngest person to serve as jury president since Sophia Loren, who chaired the Cannes jury in 1966 at age 31, the festival said in a statement.
“I am overwhelmed, enthusiastic and humbled to become president of the jury of the Cannes Film Festival,” she declared in the festival press release. I can’t wait to see what trips await us! »
She described the festival as “the pinnacle of what the universal language of films can represent.”
Festival officials were also enthusiastic about this choice for the festival which will take place from May 14 to 25 on the Côte d’Azur.
“This choice is obvious as Greta Gerwig boldly embodies the renewal of world cinema of which the Cannes Festival is each year both the precursor and the sounding board,” underlined Iris Knobloch, president of the Cannes Festival and Thierry Frémaux , Executive Officer.
“Beyond 7e Art, she also appears as the representative of an era which abolishes borders and mixes genres to make intelligence and humanism triumph. »
Another American had chaired the Cannes jury: Olivia de Haviland in 1965. But unlike Gerwig, the actress never directed films.
Gerwig began her career as an actress before moving into writing films, then co-directing and finally working solo in the director’s chair, notably with Lady Bird in 2017 — film nominated for five Oscars, including best director — followed by Little WomenThen barbie, released last July. In this film, she transformed the famous Barbie doll into a living young woman, exploring sexism and female independence.
“Becoming a global cultural phenomenon, barbie is the biggest success of the year and makes Greta Gerwig the first director in the history of cinema to exceed a billion dollars at the box office,” said the festival press release.
Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund chaired the festival jury last year.
The rest of the jury has not yet been announced. The films in competition at the 2024 film festival will be revealed in mid-April.