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CANNES 2009 Jury

Huppert joined by seven jury members

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Presided by French actress Isabelle Huppert, the competition jury for the 62nd Cannes Film Festival (May 13-24) had most of its members revealed today in Paris.

They include Italian actress Asia Argento, Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, his US counterpart James Gray, Korean director-writer Lee Chang-Dong, UK novelist Hanif Kureishi, US actress Robin Wright Penn and Taiwanese actress Shu Qi. One name still remains to be unveiled before the jury is complete.

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The jury for the film school competition organised by the Cinéfondation will be presided by the UK’s John Boorman, while the members of the Un Certain Regard and Caméra d’Or juries will be announced next week.

During the press conference announcing the official selection, delegate general Thierry Frémaux emphasised that "Cannes is more than ever an event for creators, as this year’s selected films show, and the industry".

"The future of independent auteur film is the only important issue in my opinion" added president Gilles Jacob, who dismissed "those who support the dominant belief" that "the tasteful and original cinema that we love will die and be replaced by object films."

More convinced by the idea of eternal creative renewal, Jacob announced that the Cannes Festival website would be offering selected filmmakers the chance – if they wish – to show the first five minutes of their films online, to coincide with their theatrical release. Meanwhile Frémaux has dedicated his selection to Wouter Barendrecht, the recently-deceased director of Fortissimo Films.

The 62nd Cannes Film Festival will present 52 films in its Official Selection (from 32 different countries), including 46 world premières. In order to put the programme together, 1,670 features and a total of 4,272 films were viewed.

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(Translated from French)

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