Xavier Dolan

Source: © Shayne Laverdière

Xavier Dolan

Cannes has named Canadian filmmaker and actor Xavier Dolan as the president of the jury for its Un Certain Regard sidebar.

Dolan has a long track record of premiering his films at Cannes. In 2010, his second film Heartbeats played in Un Certain Regard when he was just 21.

Two years later, Dolan’s Laurence Anyways premiered in Un Certain Regard where it won the section’s award for Best Actress ex-aequo for Suzanne Clément. Dolan won the Jury Prize at Cannes for his fifth film Mommy which played in main competition in 2014.

In 2015 Dolan was a member of the main competition jury at Cannes, chaired by the Coen brothers. Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World won the Grand Prix in competition at  Cannes in 2019.

“I am humbled and delighted to return to Cannes as President of the Un Certain Regard Jury,” said Dolan. “Even more than making films myself, discovering the work of talented filmmakers has always been at the very heart of both my personal and professional journeys. I see, in this responsibility I’m assigned, the opportunity to focus with the members of the Un Certain Regard jury on an essential aspect of the art of film: stories told truthfully.”

Greta Gerwig will preside over the jury of the main competition this year at Cannes. The festival will take place from May 14-25. The Official Selection will be announced on April 11.