The Venice International Film Festival said Friday that Michael Mann will chair its international jury, calling the director of "Heat" and "Public Enemies" a "total filmmaker."
The jury will be responsible for selecting the recipient of the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion, and other awards.
Mann is best known for his stylish big screen crime dramas like "Collateral." He has also won praise for his adventure film "The Last of the Mohicans," the boxing biopic "Ali," and the newsroom thriller "The Insider," for which he earned a best director Oscar nomination.
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His first major success, however, came on the small screen, where he helped make it safe for tough guys to wear pastels with "Miami Vice." Less fruitful was "Luck," a horse racing drama Mann executive produced for HBO. The show was cancelled last spring after the deaths of three horses.
Mann’s producing credits also include "The Aviator" and "Hancock."
Venice marks the first time that Mann will chair the jury of an international festival.
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