Nanni Moretti will be the jury president for this year's Cannes Film Festival, organizers announced Friday. The 65th edition of the festival will be held in Paris from May 16 to 27.
The Italian actor/director takes the reins from Robert De Niro, who presided over the jury at last year's festival. Moretti's most recent film, "Habemus Papum (We Have a Pope)," was screened at the 2011 festival.
“This is a real joy, an honour and a tremendous responsibility to preside over the jury of the most prestigious festival of cinematography in the world, a festival that is held in a country where film has always been treated with interest and respect," Moretti said upon accepting the invitation.
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Moretti was a jury member during the 50th-anniversary season at Canes. His films, which frequently combine humor with political analysis, have found no shortage of critical praise.
In 1978, he was selected in competition in Cannes for his second movie, "Ecce Bombo." Three years later, he received the Special Jury Prize in Venice for "Sogni d’Oro (Golden Dreams)." In 1986, he won the Silver Bear in Berlin for "La Messa è finita (The Mass Is Ended)."
At Cannes in 1994, he won the prize for best director, thanks to his film "Caro Diario (Dear Diary)." In 2001, his movie "La Stanza del figlio (The Son’s Room)" won the Palme d’Or.
"As a director, I was always very moved when my films were presented at the Festival de Cannes," said Moretti, who has had five other movies shown at the festival.
“When we decided to put Ecce Bombo — a Super 8 film! — into competition when I first arrived in 1978, it was because I had a premonition that Nanni Moretti would soon become NANNI MORETTI," Cannes President Gilles Jacob said. "This is what happened, and I am so gratified to have had this long and affectionate collaboration.”
“The festival wanted to celebrate its 65th season with a European jury president," Cannes Director-General Thierry Frémaux said in a statement. "High-spirited and marked by his modernity and intelligence, Nanni Moretti’s films are the incarnation of all the best in cinema over the past 30 years. His work is always evolving and continues to carry the promise of film that engages with the world and with our times.”
Moretti has also founded a production company, Sacher Film, and opened a Rome-based cinema cinema dedicated to the release of films from across the globe. Also, for the past 15 years, he has directed the Sacher Festival, which is devoted to short films.