05/01/2006

The presidency of the jury of the 59th Cannes Film Festival, which will take place from May 17-28, 2006 has been accepted by Wong Kar Wai. He will be the first filmmaker from Asia to preside the jury of the most important international film festival. In the history of the Cannes festival, only one other person from Asia has had this honour – the Japanese writer Tetsuro Furukaki in 1962 (festival that awarded the Palme d'Or to Brazilian Anselmo Duarte's O Pagador de promessas).

His nomination – the ultimate recognition of the 7th art – represents yet another landmark in the idyllic link between Wong Kar-Wai and the Festival. The filmmaker, who was born in 1958 in Shanghai and who has been living in Hong Kong since 1963, participated in International Critics' Week in 1988 with his first feature film As tears go by. In 1997 he won the Award for best Director for Happy Together, and in 2000 Tony Leung won the Award for Best Actor in his In the mood for love. Taking part in the 2004 Official Selection with 2046 [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Wong Kar-Wai has built up a fascinating repertoire of films with eight feature films, worthy of one of the greatest filmmakers. Taking over the presidency of the Cannes jury from Emir Kusturica, he commented on his nomination by saying that "each city has its own language. And in Cannes, it's the language of dreams." "I am looking forward to sharing with my fellow jurors the dreams created by the most gifted talents of contemporary cinema. And our goal will be 'to keep our windows open as wide as possible'", he added as an old Chinese saying goes.

(Translated from French)