The Cannes Film Festival has announced today that Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu will be the president of the jury at the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival taking place May 14-25 in the French Riviera, and marking the first time that a Mexican artist chairs the panel.
The Academy Award winner had the world premiere of his debut feature Amores Perros in the Critics’ Week competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prize. Since then he has directed the feature films 21 Grams, Babel, Biutiful, Birdman and The Revenant, having won the Academy Award for Best Director back to back in 2015 and 2016. His virtual reality experience Carne y Arena was presented in Cannes’ official selection a couple of years ago.
“Cannes is a festival that has been important to me since the beginning of my career,” Iñárritu said in a statement. “I am humbled and thrilled to return this year with the immense honor of presiding over the jury.”
He added: “Cinema runs through the veins of the planet, and this festival has been its heart. We on the jury will have the privilege to witness the new and excellent work of fellow filmmakers from all over the planet. This is a true delight and a responsibility that we will assume with passion and devotion.”
