Un Certain Regard 2023 jury

Source: © Kirk MacKoy, Getty Images / Aurélie Lamachère / Delphine Ghosarossian / Julien Lienard / Christia

(clockwise from top left) John C. Reilly, Alice Winocour, Émilie Dequenne, Davy Chou, Paula Beer

US actor John C. Reilly will preside over the jury for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, which has added Salem by Cesar award-winning French director Jean-Bernard Marlin to its line-up.

Alongside Reilly on the five-person jury are French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actress Paula Beer, French-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou and Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne.

Reilly made his film debut in Brian De Palma’s Casualties of War in 1989 by Brian De Palma and played roles in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line, Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York and Rob Marshall’s Chicago, for which he received an Oscar nomination.

He also featured in Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, Matteo Garrone’s Tale Of Tales and Yórgos Lánthimos’ The Lobster, all which played in Competition at Cannes. In 2022, he appeared remotely by Zoom in Claire Denis’ Stars At Noon, which jointly won the grand prix at Cannes.

“Many of the films I have been lucky to appear in have been selected by [Cannes] over these many years and nothing feels as special as being invited to this amazing annual gathering of the very best cinema has to offer the world,” said Reilly.

At the 76th edition of the festival, 20 films have been selected for Un Certain Regard, including eight debut features.

The 20th title, announced today, is Salem by Marlin, marking the second feature by the French filmmaker. His debut was gritty romance Shéhérazade, which played in Critics’ Week at Cannes in 2018 and went on to win the Cesar for best first film as well as most promising actress and actor for Kenza Fortas and Dylan Robert.

Salem is a fantasy drama set in the troubled housing projects of Marseille. It follows a former gang member who believes his daughter is the only one who save his community from an curse uttered by a rival gang member in his dying breath. Goodfellas handles sales.

Last year, the top prize in Un Certain Regard went to French directors Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret’s debut feature The Worst Ones.