The jury tasked with handing out the Grand Prize of the 65th Critics’ Week, which will unspool from 13-21 May as an integral part of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, will be chaired by Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia. She thus steps into Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s shoes, after he served in the same role last year.

As a reminder, Kapadia won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2024 with All We Imagine as Light and the Golden Eye in 2021 for the documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing (which was presented in the Directors’ Fortnight).

The director stated, “At a time when independent cinema is being eroded in every country, supporting the first works of filmmakers is almost a form of resistance to market forces. Film criticism is one of the key components of the independent and arthouse film ecosystem. First movies are often freer, more daring and fearless, told with an individual voice, and to champion those is absolutely essential. First films are also fragile, and to be nurtured in a section like the Critics’ Week helps them blossom amongst the works of already established filmmakers.”

The remaining members of the 2026 jury are Canadian actor Théodore Pellerin (César Award for Best New Actor this year and Rising Star Award last year in the Critics’ Week for Nino), French author-composer-actress Oklou, Ghanaian-British producer Ama Ampadu, and journalist and Bangkok World Film Festival head Donsaron Kovitvanitcha.