Quebec actress, director and screenwriter Monia Chokri will chair the Caméra d’Or jury at the 79th Festival de Cannes, following in the footsteps of Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher.
She and her four jury members will select the best directorial debut from among the films in the Official Selection, the Critics’ Week and the Director’s Fortnight.
The winner’s film will be announced during the Closing Ceremony on Saturday 23 May.
“A debut film is a dizzying experience, a defining moment when the soul seeks its form in images,” said Chokri.
“It is a second birth — the awakening of the artist within. An act of truth, it exposes our fragility. And the more the film reveals itself to the world, the more power it gains. It is the rare freedom of being fully oneself.”
“This freedom seems to be a cardinal value in her work, going hand in hand with extravagance,” added Cannes. “Xavier Dolan also notes her ‘intolerance for mediocrity’.
“The Quebec artist thus writes, films and portrays characters whose imperfections challenge our relationship with society, revealing an intimacy rarely seen on screen.
“With a highly contemporary and deconstructed approach to universal themes, her films delight in shifting tones, summoning in just a few scenes a variety of registers – sentimental, comic and sensual.
“Resolutely pop art, driven by flawless soundtracks and dynamic editing, Monia Chokri’s films seem infused with modernity and their dialogue cuts through the wind of life.”
Chokri stepped behind the camera in 2013 for her first short film An Extraordinary Person starring Anne Dorval, which won numerous awards worldwide.
After two “caustic, energetic” feature films — A Brother’s Love (Coup de coeur du Jury, Un Certain Regard 2019), exploring family ties and the pressures weighing on women, and Babysitter (2022), on domination and contemporary misogyny – her third feature film, The Nature of Love, “definitively established Monia Chokri as a leading director of her generation”, Cannes continued.
The full Caméra D’or Jury of the 79th Festival de Cannes includes:
Monia CHOKRI
Actress, director & screenwriter – Canada
Michel BENJAMIN (AFC)
Director of Photography – France
Cédric COPPOLA (SFCC)
Film Critic – France
Marine FRANCEN (SRF)
Director & screenwriter – France
Christophe MASSIE (FICAM)
Deputy CEO of Eclair by Netgem – France
More information is available on the Cannes website.
