The Coen brothers to chair the Cannes jury
- The US directors will head up the jury at the 68th edition (13-24 May 2015) of the highly renowned Cannes Festival
For the first time ever, the Cannes Festival jury will be chaired by two well-known figures, as US directors Joel and Ethan Coen have agreed to preside over it at the 68th edition (13-24 May 2015). The two brothers will be the 19th and 20th Americans to fill the chairperson’s shoes: the job was recently entrusted to their fellow countrymen Quentin Tarantino (2004), Sean Penn (2008), Tim Burton (2010), Robert de Niro (2011) and Steven Spielberg (2013). They are succeeding New Zealand’s Jane Campion in the role; she chaired the jury at the 2014 edition of the world’s most famous festival, which is now overseen by Pierre Lescure (president) and Thierry Frémaux (general delegate).
Having won the Palme d'Or in 1991 with Barton Fink, Joel and Ethan Coen have taken part in the Cannes competition eight times, snagging the Grand Prix in 2013 (for Inside Llewyn Davis) and the Best Director Award on two separate occasions (with Fargo in 1996 and The Man Who Wasn’t There in 2001). Their other important and cult titles include Miller's Crossing, The Big Lebowski, O' Brother, True Grit and No Country for Old Men (winner of the Oscar for Best Picture in 2008, following a screening in competition on the Croisette the previous year), to name but a few.
“We look forward to returning to Cannes this year,” remarked Joel and Ethan Coen. “We welcome, as always, the opportunity to watch movies there from all over the world. Cannes is a festival that has been important to us since the very beginning of our career. Presiding over the Jury is a special honour, since we have never heretofore been president of anything. We will issue further proclamations at the appropriate time.”
(Translated from French)
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