Oscar award recipient, Alejandro G. Iñárritu is Cannes jury president

Oscar award recipient, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, has been named the jury president for the 2019 Cannes film festival.

Pierre Lescure, the president of the festival, and its artistic director, Thierry Frémaux, confirmed Iñárritu’s choice as jury president.

The ‘Babel’ director was chosen by the Cannes team to head the jury of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival because ‘he’s not only a daring filmmaker and a director who is full of surprises but also a man of conviction and an artist of his time,’ Pierre Lescure, the president of the festival, and Thierry Frémaux, its artistic director, said Lescure and Fremaux.

ALSO READ: African filmmakers to market films at 2019 Cannes film festival

2019 Cannes film festival will take place from May 14, 2019 to May 25, 2019.

Responding to the announcement, Iñárritu said, “Cannes is a festival that has been important to me since the beginning of my career. I am humbled and thrilled to return this year with the immense honor of presiding over the jury.

“Cinema runs through the veins of the planet, and this festival has been its heart. We on the jury will have the privilege to witness the new and excellent work of fellow filmmakers from all over the planet. This is a true delight and a responsibility that we will assume with passion and devotion,” he said.

Iñárritu’s directed films, ‘Birdman’ and ‘The Revenant’ earned him four Academy awards in two years. He won ‘Best Director’ in 2015 and 2016, Bet Picture, and Best Original Screenplay.