French film director, composer and screenwriter Bertrand Bonello will chair the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury at the 71st Festival de Cannes (8-19 May).
Bonello, who succeeds Cristian Mungiu in the position, has directed seven features and eight short films, including Parisian-set terrorism thriller Nocturama in 2016.
His films Tiresia, House Of Tolerance and Saint Laurent have all screened in Competition at the Festival de Cannes.
Bonello said: “What do we expect from young people, unknown filmmakers and early films? Let them shake us up, let them make us look at what we’re unable to see, let them enjoy the freedom, the sharpness, the recklessness and the daring that we sometimes no longer possess.”
The Cinéfondation, which has been running since 1998 and is presided over by former Cannes president Gilles Jacob, selects 15 to 20 short and medium-length films from several thousand submissions by students.
Jacob said: “This year will be presided by one of the greatest contemporary directors, an iconoclastic and unique artist. And besides his art, his genuine humanity continues to shine to this day.”
Previous directors to have screened work in the Cinéfondation include Lynne Ramsay (Morvern Callar, We Need To Talk About Kevin) and Asif Kapadia (Senna, Amy).
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