Celine Sciamma copy

Source: © Claire Mathon/Berlinale

Celine Sciamma

French director Céline Sciamma has been named jury president of this year’s Giornate degli Autori (GdA), which runs alongside the Venice Film Festival (August 31 - September 10).

Sciamma will preside over 27 young European film enthusiasts to select the recipient of the GdA Director’s award for best film from the Giornate Official Selection. The process will be coordinated by Karlovy Vary Film Festival director Karel Och.

It is the only award given at the GdA, a sidebar of the Venice Film Festival which runs independently parallel and is promoted by the Italian filmmakers’ associations.

Sciamma’s most recent directing credits include Petite Maman, which premiered in competition at the Berlinale 2021 and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, for which she won best screenplay at Cannes in 2019. She also co-founded the gender equality in film initiative Collectif 50/50 which was recently rocked by sexual assault allegations.

Last year the GdA jury was headed by Bulgarian directing duo Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova. They selected Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark’s Romanian film Imaculat which went on to win best debut at Venice’s main festival.