Actress, screenwriter and director Kristen Stewart has been named president of the International Jury at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival.
“We’re excited about Kristen Stewart taking on this distinguished task. She’s one of the most talented and multi-faceted actors of her generation,” festival directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian said in a statement. “From Bella Swan to the Princess of Wales she has given life to everlasting characters. Young, shining and with an impressive body of work behind her, Kristen Stewart is the perfect bridge between US and Europe.”
In 1999, Stewart made her screen debut at the age of nine. Just three years later, she starred alongside Jodie Foster in David Fincher’s “Panic Room” and achieved wider public recognition.
Her international breakthrough came with the five-part “Twilight” saga (2008–2012). In 2010, she attended the Berlinale with the independent production “Welcome to the Rileys” (directed by Jake Scott). That same year, she received the Orange Rising Star Award for Best Newcomer at the BAFTAs.
In 2014, she played alongside Juliette Binoche in “Clouds of Sils Maria,” directed by French auteur Olivier Assayas, and in 2015 she became the first American to receive the French film award César for her role in the film. She continued her work with Assayas in 2016 on “Personal Shopper,” in which she played the lead.
In 2017, she celebrated her directorial and screenwriting debut with the short film “Come Swim” and in 2018, she was a member of the International Jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2019, she made a foray into the action genre in “Charlie’s Angels” (directed by Elizabeth Banks) and starred in the biopic “Seberg” (directed by Benedict Andrews) which celebrated its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. In 2020, she presented her next work as a director – the short film “Crickets.”
Most recently, Stewart wowed audiences as Princess Diana in Pablo Larraín’s film drama “Spencer,” garnering Academy Award and Critics Choice Awards nominations for Best Actress.
She has just completed production on “Love Me,” opposite Steven Yeun, and just wrapped production on “Love Lies Bleeding,” directed by Rose Glass. She is also currently working on her feature-length directorial debut, the film adaptation of the bestseller “The Chronology of Water” by Lidia Yuknavitch.