Hungarian director and screenwriter Ildikó Enyedi has been announced as president of the Cannes Film Festival jury deciding the Short Film Palme d’Or and the 3 La Cinef prizes for student films in the Official Selection.
She will be joined by Iranian-American screenwriter and director Ana Lily Amirpour, Canadian actress and director Charlotte Le Bon, French actress Karidja Touré and Israeli filmmaker Shlomi Elkabetz.
Enyedi got her international break in Cannes in 1989 when her first film My 20th Century was selected for Un Certain Regard and won the Caméra d’Or
“When, in 1989, in that magical year of change in Europe I arrived in Cannes with my first feature film – with exhibitions banned, a student film banned and many difficulties – it was an unbelievable feeling,” said Enyedi.
“Being chosen meant to be understood, to be seen for real, as if this huge, colorful and flamboyant community of brilliant artists and film professionals opened their arms to me, the total beginner, inviting me among them, extending trust where there was just a promise. Till this day I remember every moment of the time spent in Cannes,” she continued.
“I am sure that those young filmmakers who present their short films in this year’s festival feel the same positive shock. I root for them, I hope that this recognition will boost their confidence to continue, to be bold and humble, not to lose focus, not to be starstruck or stunned – I root for them to deal with this recognition in a mature and wise way. Well, in a nutshell or rather in short…I root for them!”
Enyedi’s subsequent works included the Oscar-nominated On Body and Soul, which won the Golden Bear in 2017, and The Story of My Wife, which was in Competition in Cannes in 2021.
