Kiwi helmer Jane Campion will preside over this year’s jury, as was previously announced by the Cannes Festival. The list of her co-jurors was released today, showing a cosmopolitan, if homogeneous (professionally speaking) mix of actors and directors hailing from the U.S., France, China, Korea, Denmark, Iran, France and Mexico. They form a compelling international cohort representative of countries in which cinema is either celebrated or enjoying a renaissance.

That said, let’s keep hope alive that other professions, like screenwriters, novelists and film critics, will be thrown into the mix in future years. Fest has been worthy of more inventiveness in the handpicking of jurors process before.

Screen Comment will be in Cannes starting May 14 to bring you all the stories from the world’s best film festival

Just like in 2009 this year’s jury will include five women and four men. Their responsiblity will be to the eighteen films in competition, ie., choosing who the winners will be and how to distribute the prizes, all in time for the closing ceremony scheduled for Saturday 24th May, a day sooner than usual (historically speaking, the festival always closes on a sunday; this year, however, European elections are taking place that day). The winning film will be screened during the closing ceremony.

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The jury members are:

Jane CAMPION – President
(Director, Screenwriter, Producer – New Zealand)

Carole BOUQUET (actress, France)
After her film debut in 1977 with Luis Buñuel in That Obscure Object of Desire, Bouquet alternated between arthouse and blockbuster fare. A Bond Girl in 1981 in “For Your Eyes Only,” she worked with Bertrand Blier on “Buffet Froid” (1979) and “Too Beautiful For You” (1989) for which she won the César (France’s Academy Awards) for Best Actress. She appeared in “Le jour des idiots” by Werner Schroeter, Michel Blanc’s “Dead Tired” and “Embrassez qui vous voudrez, Lucie Aubrac” by Claude Berri, “L’Enfer” by Danis Tanovic, “Nordeste” by Juan Diego Solanas (Festival de Cannes 2005) and “Unforgivable” by André Téchiné.

Sofia COPPOLA (director, screenwriter, producer, U.S.)
Coppola’s first feature film, “The Virgin Suicides” (1999) was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, where it met with international critical acclaim. Four years later, after several Oscar nominations for Lost in Translation, including Best Director, she walked off with the Best Screenplay award. Her third film, “Marie-Antoinette” was selected in Competition at Cannes in 2006. After picking up a Golden Lion in Venice for Somewhere (2010), Sofia Coppola opened Un Certain Regard with her last film “The Bling Ring” at the Festival de Cannes in 2013.

Leila HATAMI (actress, Iran)
Born in Tehran into a family of filmmakers, Leila Hatami started out acting in films directed by her father, Ali Hatami, before starring in Dariush Mehrjui’s “Leila” (1998) which brought her to national attention. It was Asghar Farhadi who established her on the world stage with “A Separation” (Golden Bear at the 2011 Berlin Festival). She picked up the Best Actress award in Karlovy Vary for her role in Ali Mosaffa’s “Last Step” in 2012.

JEON Do-yeon (actress, South Korea)
The first Korean actress to receive the Best Actress award at the Festival de Cannes for her role in Secret Sunshine by Lee Chang-dong (2007), actress Jeon Do-yeon started out as a television actress before turning exclusively to cinema. Her major films include “I Wish I Had a Wife” by Ryoo Seung, “My Mother, The Mermaid” by Park Jin-pyo and “The Housemaid” by Im Sang-soo, presented at Cannes in 2010. A very well-known actress in her home country, she has just finished shooting “Memories of the Sword” by Park Heung-sik.

Willem DAFOE (actor, U.S.)
Twice nominated for an Oscar, for Oliver Stone’s “Platoon” and “Shadow of the Vampire,” Willem Dafoe has appeared in eighty films including “Grand Budapest Hotel” by Wes Anderson, “Light Sleeper” by Paul Schrader, “The Last Temptation of Christ” by Martin Scorsese, “Antichrist” by Lars von Trier and “The English Patient” by Anthony Minghella. He will soon be appearing in “A Most Wanted Man” by Anton Corbijn and “Pasolini” by Abel Ferrara. A co-founder of the Wooster Group he is currently on tour with Bob Wilson’s play ‘The Old Woman.’

Gael GARCIA BERNAL (actor, director, producer, Mexico)
Garcia Bernal first came to public attention in Alejandro Iñárritu’s “Amorres Perros,” soon followed by “Y Tu Mamá También” by Alfonso Cuarón. In quick succession he got cast in “The Motorcycle Diaries” by Walter Salles, Pedro Almodóvar’s “Bad Education,” “The Science of Sleep” by Michel Gondry, “Babel” by Gonzalez Iñárritu, and “The Limits of Control” by Jim Jarmusch. In 2005, he founded his own production company with Diego Luna and in 2010, after a few short films, directed his first feature film, “Deficit,” selected at La Semaine de la Critique at Cannes.

Nicolas Winding REFN (director, screenwriter, producer – Denmark)
Nicolas Winding Refn’s first film, Pusher (1996), written and directed at the age of 24, immediately became a cult movie and he shot to fame throughout the world. The Danish filmmaker then directed “Bleeder” (1999), “Fear X” (2003), “Pusher II” & “III” (2004 & 2005), “Bronson” (2008) and “Valhalla Rising” (2009), all characteristic of the style that came to be dubbed refnesque. In 2011, “Drive” was presented at the Festival de Cannes and won the Best Direction prize, awarded by the Jury presided by Robert De Niro. His last film, “Only God Forgives,” featured in Competition at Cannes in 2013.

JIA Zhangke (director, screenwriter, producer, China)
After first studying art Jia Zhangke, born in 1970, attended the Beijing Film Academy in the 1990s. After the success of his first film, “Xao Wu” (1998), he directed “Platform” (Zhantai, 2000) and “Unknown Pleasures” (Ren xiao yao, 2002) selected for Venice and Cannes respectively. “Still Life” picked up the Golden Lion in Venice in 2006. He also presented “24 City” at the Festival de Cannes, in Competition in 2008 and “I Wish I Knew” for Un Certain Regard in 2010. Last year, “A Touch of Sin” garnered the Best Screenplay prize awarded by the Jury presided by Steven Spielberg.