Prizewinners from last year will chair Orizzonti and Luigi De Laurentiis award juries respectively.

Shirin Neshat and Fatih Akin, who both had films in last year’s Venice International Film Festival competition, have been named to co-chair juries at the 67th festival this year (Sept 1-11).

The Iranian Neshat, whose Women Without Men won her the Silver Lion for best director, will chair the Orizzonti section, while the Turkish German Akin, whose Soul Kitchen won a special jury prize, will chair the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for best debut film.

The appointments were proposed by festival director Marco Mueller.

The Orizzonti jury, which is open this year to all “extra-format” works, will be composed of five people and will give four new awards, two for feature films, one for shorts and one for medium-length films. This programme will absorb the CortoCortissimo section and also the Special Events programme.

The first film jury will consist of five people to choose the best of all debut features in the various competitive sections of the festival. The winner receives the Lion Of The Future and a $100,000 prize donated by Filmauro’s Aurelio De Laurentiis which is shared equally between the director and producer.

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