Nadine Labaki, the groundbreaking Arab filmmaker who made history as the first Arab woman to claim a major prize at Cannes, now takes her seat among the esteemed jury members for its 77th edition. Alongside industry luminaries like Greta Gerwig, the Lebanese director and actress stands as one of the eight members entrusted with deciding the Palme d’Or and other coveted prizes at the festival running from May 17 to 25.
Labaki is also joined on the esteemed panel by directors Kore-era Hirokazu and Juan Antonio Bayona, known respectively for their works Shoplifters and Society of the Snow. Also gracing the jury are acclaimed actors Lily Gladstone from Killers of the Flower Moon and Eva Greene from Casino Royale, alongside Turkish screenwriter Ebru Ceylan, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino, and French actor Omar Sy.
The jury’s daunting task involves reviewing 22 films in the main competition, commencing on May 14. Among these are notable works like David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, and Yorgos Lanthimos’s Kinds of Kindness.
Their responsibility extends to selecting winners across various categories, including the prestigious Palme d’Or for the best film, with the announcement scheduled for the festival’s closing day on May 25.
Labaki’s journey from her groundbreaking films like Caramel and Capernaum to her historic Cannes win in 2018 underscores her profound impact on Middle Eastern cinema. As a juror, she brings not only her remarkable experience but also a steadfast commitment to amplifying marginalized voices in the industry. In 2019, her legacy continued to soar as she became the first Lebanese female filmmaker to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film with Capernaum. Moreover, her role as part of the jury at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival further cements her status as a trailblazer in the world of cinema.
