2023 has been a career-defining year for Greta Gerwig, and every time we think there’s nothing else left for her to do—she proves us wrong. The acclaimed director of Barbie has been announced as the next jury president of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
Gerwig said she’s stunned, thrilled, and humbled to be serving as the president of the Cannes Film Festival jury and added she can’t wait to see what its next edition has in store.
“As a cinephile, Cannes has always been the pinnacle of what the universal language of movies can be… Being in the place of vulnerability, in a dark theatre filled with strangers, watching a brand-new film is my favorite place to be” said Gerwig in a statement.
The Cannes Film Festival’s official announcement described Gerwig as “a heroine of our modern times” who had shaken the “status quo”. She’s only the second female director to preside over the Cannes jury after Jane Campion in 2014 and the youngest person to do so since Sofia Loren in 1966.
Gerwig’s latest film Barbie came out earlier this year and went on to become the highest-grossing film of 2023. It recently topped the list of nominations at several major award shows, including the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards.
