Mexican-Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o will chair the Berlinale jury next February and will be the first black person to occupy this prestigious position, organizers said on Monday.
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In the 74-year history of the Berlin Film Festival, never has a black man or woman headed the jury that awards the Golden and Silver Bears. This will therefore change in February 2024 with Mexican-Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o. The two co-directors of the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, said “happy and proud” that the actress accepted this role. Lupita Nyong’o, 40, won the Oscar for supporting actress in March 2014 for her performance in 12 Years a Slave.
Documentary filmmaker and actress
“Lupita Nyong’o embodies what we love in cinema: versatility and consistency” in his artistic choices, declared the two co-directors in a press release. The actress was born in Mexico City to Kenyan parents and grew up in Kenya in a wealthy environment before studying film and theater in the United States. In 2009, she wrote, produced and directed the documentary In My Genes (in my genes) dedicated to the albinos of Kenya.
At 31, Lupita Nyong’o gained notoriety thanks to her interpretation of Patsey, a martyred slave in 12 Years a Slave directed by British filmmaker Steve McQueen. Among her other on-screen successes, she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe where she played the character of Nakia in the blockbuster Black Pantheras well as his appearances in different parts of the saga Star Wars.
The Berlinale, which will take place from February 15 to 25, 2024, is one of the three major European film festivals along with Cannes and Venice. In 2023, a documentary on psychiatry by Frenchman Nicolas Philibert won the Golden Bear.
The festival should unveil on Tuesday the name of its future director who will replace the duo composed of Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian.
