Greta Gerwig becomes head jury of the Cannes Film Festival

This year’s Cannes Film Festival didn’t host the biggest movie of the year — “Barbie” — but the film’s director and co-writer, Greta Gerwig, will play a major role next year.

Cannes organizers announced Thursday that Gerwig will lead the jury at the 77th edition of the glitzy festival, scheduled from May 14 to 25, a role in which she will help decide the winner of the Palme d’Or, the top prize of the festival. .

Gerwig becomes the first female American director ever to take on the role. And at 40, she will be the second-youngest jury president, after Sophia Loren, the Italian actress, who was 31 when she chaired the jury in 1966.

Thierry Frémaux, artistic director of the festival, and Iris Knobloch, chairman, called Gerwig the “obvious choice” for the role. The director, writer and actress, they added in a joint statement“boldly embodies the renewal of world cinema” and “is also the representative of an era that breaks down barriers and blends genres, thereby elevating the values ​​of intelligence and humanism.”

Gerwig, who is also known for films such as “Frances Ha” (which she co-wrote and starred in), “Lady Bird” and “Little Women” (which she both wrote and directed), said in the press release announcing her appointment: she was “stunned, excited and humbled” when she was appointed jury president.

“As a cinephile, Cannes has always been the pinnacle of what the universal cinematic language can be,” Gerwig added: “I can’t wait to see what journeys await us all.”

The line-up for next year’s festival will be announced in April.