The Cannes Film Festival won’t announce its line-up until April 11, but that doesn’t mean other aspects of the festival aren’t coming into focus. Variety reports that the festival has its “Un Certain Regard” jury president, a director who’s been a mainstay in that section for the past decade: Canadian Xavier Dolan.
Dolan has had five of his films premiere at Cannes, two in the “Un Certain Regard” and three in the main competition for the Palme d’Or. After writing and directing “I Killed My Mother” at 19, Dolan’s sophomore feature “Heartbeats” premiered in “Un Certain Regard” in 2010. Two years later, “Laurence Anyways” premiered in the same section, earning actress Suzanne Clement a tie for Best Actress. “Mommy” was Dolan’s first feature to land in Cannes’ main competition, followed by “It’s Only The End Of The World” (which won the Cannes Grand Prix in 2016) and “Matthias & Maxine” in 2019. Dolan also served as a jury member for the 68th annual festival when Joel & Ethan Coen were the jury president.
“I am humbled and delighted to return to Cannes as President of the Un Certain Regard Jury,” Dolan said in a statement. “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.”
It comes as a pleasant surprise that the festival taps Dolan to head the “Un Certain Regard,” especially since the director has talked of retiring from filmmaking as recently as last year. After his recent TV series “The Night Logan Woke Up” failed to land anywhere, the director vented his frustrations about the industry in an interview. “It is a very thankless process, I am tired and discouraged,” he told El País. “The simplest solution is to direct publicity and build me a house in the country.” For what it’s worth, critics rated “The Night Logan Woke Up” at its world premiere at Sundance in January 2023, with The Playlist’s review giving it an “A-” rating.
But while Dolan’s future in movie remains up in the air, he’ll join the 2024 main competition Jury president Greta Gerwig on the Croisette this May. The 2024 Cannes Film Festival runs from May 13 to 25 this year, with the festival announcing its line-up on April 11.
