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BERLINALE 2022

M Night Shyamalan to head the jury of the 72nd Berlinale

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- The US filmmaker will serve as the president of the International Jury for the festival’s next edition, unspooling from 10-20 February 2022

M Night Shyamalan to head the jury of the 72nd Berlinale
Director M Night Shyamalan (© Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Today, the Berlinale announced the name of the president of its International Jury: on this occasion, the delicate task will be handled by M Night Shyamalan. An alumnus of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, the US immigrant filmmaker originally from South Asia has been captivating audiences worldwide with his genre films over the past three decades. His breakthrough, the psychological thriller The Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis, Toni Collette and Haley Joel Osment, was the second-highest-grossing film of 1999 and received six Oscar nominations.

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To date, Shyamalan’s filmography includes 14 features as a director. His most successful titles are Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), The Village (2004), The Visit (2015) and Split (2017). His latest effort, Old, is based on the graphic novel Sandcastle and was released internationally in cinemas last summer. He is currently working on a new feature, entitled Knock at the Cabin, which will be ready for release in February 2023.

Upon hearing the news, Shyamalan commented: “I have always felt like an independent filmmaker within the system of Hollywood. It is exactly those things in us that are different and unorthodox that define our voice. I have tried to maintain these things in myself and cheer others on to protect those aspects in their art and in themselves. Being asked to be a part of the Berlinale is deeply meaningful to me. It represents the highest imprimatur for a filmmaker. Being able to support and celebrate the world’s very best talent in storytelling is a gift I happily accepted.”

Meanwhile, the Berlinale’s artistic director, Carlo Chatrian, added: “I’m pleased and honoured that M Night Shyamalan has accepted our invitation to serve as president of the jury. Throughout his career, he’s shaped a universe in which fears and desires stand side by side, where young people are not only the protagonists, but also the driving force for overcoming dread. Within the US movie business, Shyamalan is a unique figure, a filmmaker who has remained faithful to his vision. This truthfulness to one’s ideals is also what we are looking for in our selection.”

The next edition of the Berlinale will unspool from 10-20 February 2022.

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