Juliette Binoche has been appointed as the jury president for the 78th Cannes Film Festival, it was announced Tuesday. Binoche succeeds last year's president, Greta Gerwig, making it the second time that consecutive women have presided over the jury. The previous occurrence of back-to-back female jury presidents was with Sophia Loren following Olivia de Havilland in 1965 and 1966, respectively.
Binoche, a French actor, first attended Cannes 40 years ago with the premiere of André Téchiné's Rendez-vous. She has since returned for several films, including Krzysztof Kieslowski's Blue, Michael Haneke's Caché, and Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy. Reflecting on her journey, Binoche said: "In 1985, I walked up the steps for the first time with the enthusiasm and uncertainty of a young actress; I never imagined I'd return 40 years later in the honorary role of President of the Jury. I appreciate the privilege, the responsibility and the absolute need for humility." The Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to run from May 13 to 24, with the lineup set to be unveiled in mid-April. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)