Vidya Balan, Nicole Kidman, Ang Lee join Steven Spielberg on Cannes festival jury

Indian actress and National Award winner Vidya Balan will join Hollywood A-listers actress Nicole Kidman and director Ang Lee next month on the Cannes film festival jury, organisers said on Wednesday.

Steven Spielberg, who recently visited India, is the jury president.

“It’s an absolute honour to represent India on a global stage,” Balan told tabloid! from Mumbai, where she is currently wrapping up the shooting for her next film, Ganchakkar.

“To have it any year is welcome, but to have it in the 100th year of Indian cinema makes it even more special. I’d hoped my work would take me there but even to be on the same platform as Steven Spielberg and Nicole Kidman is unbelievable,” she said.

Australian Kidman won the best actress Academy Award for her portrayal of author Virginia Woolf in The Hours while Taiwan-born Lee was named best director earlier this year for his fantasy epic Life of Pi.

Lee, who has spent almost his entire professional career abroad, also won a best director Oscar for the gay cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain and his kung fu epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won best foreign language film.

The other jury members named were: Japanese director Naomi Kawase; Lynne Ramsay, Scottish director of We Need to Talk About Kevin; French actor/director Daniel Auteuil; Romanian director Cristian Mungiu; and Inglourious Basterds actor Christoph Waltz.

The jury, headed by Spielberg, will award the coveted Palme d’Or to one of the 19 films in competition at the May 15 to 26 festival.

With inputs from AFP