One of the Cannes Film Festival’s top officials will serve as the president of the jury at this year’s Adelaide Film Festival.
Christian Jeune is the Deputy General Delegate and director of the film department at the festival, which he joined in 1983 while studying languages at a college in Nice.
Among his duties he is responsible for scouting films for official competition, Un Certain Regard and the short films competition.
As deputy to festival director Thierry Frémaux, he also negotiates with filmmakers, producers, film commissions and sales agents as well as coordinating screenings and press conferences
His fellow jurors are Annemarie Jacir, Director of Philistine Films, one the leading figures of the “Arab New Wave”; Variety’s chief Asia critic Maggie Lee, who has programmed festivals in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore and is programming consultant for the Tokyo International Film Festival; and 52 Tuesdays director Sophie Hyde, a partner in Closer Productions.
Foxtel Movies will again sponsor the international award for best feature film, which carries a $25,000 cash prize for the director.
Jeune said today: “I am delighted to be part of the Adelaide Film Festival, which has invested in some of the strongest films coming from Australia including Samson and Delilah by Warwick Thornton, Snowtown by Justin Kurzel and Charlie's Country by Rolf de Heer, and thus echoes all over the world of cinema."
Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) director/CEO Amanda Duthie said, “This is a fabulous line up of creatives, all of whom contribute to screen culture across the globe.”
Submissions for AFF 2015 will be accepted until next Monday June 9. AFF is calling for films from all genres including features, documentaries and short films.
Films can be submitted via www.filmfestivallife.com. The festival runs from October 15-25.