UK director, screenwriter and cinematographer Molly Manning Walker has been named as president of the Un Certain Regard Jury at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival this May.
She will be joined by French-Swiss director and screenwriter Louise Courvoisier, Croatian director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam Vanja Kaludjercic, Italian director, producer and screenwriter Roberto Minervini and Argentinian actor Nahuel Pérez Biscayart.
They will be decided the prizes in Un Certain Regard section, which showcases art and discovery films by young auteurs and features 20 titles this year, including nine debut features.
The section opens with Tunisian-French director Erige Sehiri’s Promised Sky on May 14, the day after the festival’s opening ceremony.
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Manning Walker has a special connection with Un Certain Regard having won its main prize for first feature How To Have Sex in 2023. She turned up late for the ceremony, leading then Jury President John C. Reilly to serenade the audience while they awaited her arrival.
“It’s such an honour to return to Cannes as the President of the Un Certain Regard Jury. This selection will forever hold a special place in my heart,” said Manning Walker.
“Being a part of it really changed my world. I can’t wait to discover the films at the epicentre of new cinema. Right now more than ever I feel that cinema is so key to bringing us together and allowing us to feel, to connect with each other. To escape, wonder and learn about each other. I’m excited to go on this journey with the other Jury members as I know it will be one hell of an adventure escaping into these filmmakers’ worlds.”
Since How To Have Sex Manning Walker has also found acclaim for her Bafta-nominated cinematography on Charlotte Regan’s feature Scrapper, which was presented at the Sundance Film Festival. Her early work includes short film Good Thanks, You?, which played in Cannes Critics’ Week. She is currently working on her own TV series with A24 and her next feature film with Plan B.
Courvoisier made waves in Cannes last year with first film Holy Cow (Vingt Dieux), which won the Youth Award in Un Certain Regard section and then went on to be a breakout hit at home, before traveling internationally.
Kaludjercic has been the Director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam since 2020. Prior to this position she held acquisition roles at the global streaming service MUBI and the Coproduction Office, and also collaborated with a number festivals including Sarajevo and the Netherlands Film Festival.
Minervini was in Un Certain Regard last year with The Damned, which was awarded Best Director (ex-aequo). As an Italian living in the United States for more than two decades, his work reflects a unique perspective on America, deeply influenced by his heritage.
Further credits include What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? (2018), The Other Side, which played in 2015 and Stop the Pounding Heart, which premiered in a Special Screenings in Cannes in 2013.
Pérez Biscayart made waves in Cannes In 2017 with his performance in Palme d’Or contender BPM by Robin Campillo. Subsequent credits include Persian Lessons by Vadim Perelman (2020), The Employer and the Employee by Manolo Nieto (2021), One Year, One Night by Isaki Lacuesta (2022), No Love Lost by Erwan Le Duc (2023) and My New Friends by André Téchiné (2024).
The post Cannes: Molly Manning Walker To Preside Over Un Certain Regard Jury With Louise Courvoisier, Vanja Kaludjercic, Roberto Minervini & Nahuel Pérez Biscayart appeared first on Deadline.
