28/02/2023 - The Swedish director will head up the competition jury for the event’s 76th edition, unspooling 16 – 27 May

Director Ruben Östlund

For the second time in its history, the competition jury of the Cannes Film Festival will be led by a Swedish national. Following in the footsteps of actress Ingrid Bergman in 1973, director Ruben Östlund is set to officiate during the 76th edition (running 16 – 27 May) of the biggest film event in the world. The filmmaker who’s the proud owner of two Palme D’Or awards (for The Square [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile] in 2017 and Triangle of Sadness [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruben Östlund
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile] last year) is succeeding France’s Vincent Lindon who presided over the jury in the 2022 edition of the festival, which was steered by the duo composed of Iris Knobloch (Chair) and Thierry Frémaux (Director General).

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"I am happy, proud, and humbled to be trusted with the honour of Jury President for this year's competition in the Cannes Film Festival. Nowhere in the film world is the sense of anticipation so strong as when the curtain rises on the films competing in the festival. It is a privilege to be a part of it alongside Cannes’ audience of connoisseurs. I am sincere when I say that this is the most crucial moment there has ever been for cinema culture. Cinemas are unique: they’re a shared space. Watching films together means we expect more of what’s being shown, and it increases the intensity of the experience. It’s such a different experience to dopamine scrolling in front of individual screens”, insisted future Jury President Ruben Östlund. “As president”, he concluded, “I will remind my colleagues in the jury about the social function of cinemas. A good movie speaks to the collective experience, encourages us to think, and makes us want to talk about what we’ve seen. So let's go and watch films together!

For the record, five of Ruben Östlund’s six feature films have been screened in Cannes. In addition to his two Palme D’Or awards, the director also presented Play [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruben Östlund
interview: Ruben Ostlund
film profile] at the 2011 Directors’ Fortnight, as well as two films in the Un Certain Regard section: Involuntary [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erik Hemmendorff
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile] in 2008 and Force Majeure [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile] in 2014.

(Translated from French)