Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, actress-filmmaker Rebecca Hall and Iranian director-producer Asghar Farhadi are some of the names that have been unveiled as members of the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which will presided over by French actor Vincent Lindon.
Lindon, together with eight jury members, will present the Palme d’Or to one of the 21 films in competition on May 28, during the closing ceremony of the prestigious festival.
Isabelle Huppert was the last French star to be Jury President in 2009. In the history of the Festival, French celebrities have often held this role in an anniversary year, such as Yves Montand in 1987 for the 40th Festival, Gérard Depardieu in 1993 for the 45th Festival, and Isabelle Adjani in 1997 for the 50th.
Aside from the above mentioned names, other jury members of the festival include Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, Italian actress-director Jasmine Trinca, French director, screenwriter and producer Ladj Ly, Hollywood director-screenwriter Jeff Nichols and Norwegian director-screenwriter Joachim Trier.
Trinca’s first feature film ‘Marcel!’ will also be presented at the festival in a special screening.
“It is a great honour and source of pride to be entrusted, in the midst of the tumult of all the events we are going through in the world, with the splendid, weighty task of chairing the Jury of the 75th International Cannes Film Festival,” Lindon said in a statement.
“With my jury, we will strive to take the best possible care of the films of the future, all of which carry the same secret hope of courage, loyalty, and freedom, with a mission to move the greatest number of women and men by speaking to them of their common wounds and joys. Culture helps the human soul to rise and hope for tomorrow,” he further added.
Padukone, who is a regular visitor to the festival, is one of the top rated female actors in Bollywood today, having starred in more than 30 films, including critically acclaimed projects such as ‘Chhapaak’, ‘Padmaavat’ and ‘Piku’. She most recently starred in ‘Gehraiyaan’, which drew praise for her role in the film.
The actress also made her English language film debut as the female lead in ‘xXx: The Return of Xander Cage’, co-starring Vin Diesel, in 2017, and launched her own production house, Ka Productions a few years later. In 2015, she set up The Live Love Laugh Foundation, whose programmes and initiatives aim to destigmatise mental illness and raise awareness about the importance of mental health. In 2018, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 17 to 28.
