Director Abderrahmane Sissako has been named president of the Cinefondation and Short Film juries at the 68th Cannes Film Festival, Cannes organizers announced on Tuesday.
Sissako’s film “Timbuktu” screened in competition at last year’s Cannes, and went on to receive acclaim and an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category, where it became Mauritania’s first entry and first nomination.
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“Timbuktu” deals with a small African village taken over by Islamic fundamentalists. It was the latest of six Sissako films to screen at Cannes: “The Game” in the Critics’ Week section, “Octobre” and “Waiting for Happiness” in Un Certain Regard, “Life on Earth” in Directors Fortnight and “Bamako” out of competition.
Earlier, Cannes announced that the main competition jury will be headed by Joel and Ethan Coen.
This year’s festival will run from May 11 though May 24 in the South of France.