Iranian Female Filmmaker Among Cannes Film Festival Jury Members

The members of the jury panel for the 69th Cannes Film Festival have been announced, and among them is the name of an Iranian female filmmaker.

Katayoun Shahabi, a film producer, is the second Iranian woman to serve on the jury of this prestigious film festival, following Leila Hatami.

Besides Ms. Shahabi, Kirsten Dunst (American actress), Valeria Golino (Italian actress and director), and Vanessa Paradis (French actress and singer) will be three other women on this nine-member jury, forming one of the most female-dominated jury panels in the history of this festival.

Mads Mikkelsen (Danish actor), Donald Sutherland (American actor), László Nemes (Hungarian director), and Arnaud Desplechin (French director and screenwriter) are other members of this year’s jury panel.

Previously, George Miller, creator of the Mad Max films, was announced as the president of the Cannes Film Festival jury this year.

He is the first Australian to serve as president of this festival’s jury.

Last year, the Coen Brothers, who had won the Palme d’Or twice, served as presidents of the Cannes jury.

It was the first time that two people jointly served as presidents of the jury.

The 69th Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 11-12 in southern France.

This year, the film The Salesman, the latest work by Asghar Farhadi, is also in the competition section, and given Ms. Shahabi’s presence on the jury, it is considered one of the main contenders for winning an award.

Katayoun Shahabi is the CEO of the Shahrzad International Media Institute and a former member of the board of directors of the Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association.

Ms. Shahabi was the global distributor of the film “Nahid” directed by Aida Panahan, which achieved success in Iran and worldwide. Last year, this film won an award in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival.

In addition to producing several documentary and narrative films, she has served as a judge at several international film festivals and works in the global distribution of Iranian cinema products.

In 2010, she was selected as an exemplary exporter of Iran’s cultural, artistic, cinematic, and audiovisual services by the Export Development Office of Iran’s Trade Development Organization.

In 2011, she was arrested along with five other documentary filmmakers on charges of cooperating with foreign media, and after nearly two months, was released on bail.

“A Separation from Iran,” “Sunrise,” and “Old Boy” are among the documentary films produced by Ms. Shahabi.

Source: BBC Persian