Never had it been revealed so late.
The name of the president of the jury for the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which will take place from May 17 to 28, was revealed this Tuesday, April 26, at the end of the afternoon.
And it is the French actor Vincent Lindon, 62, who has been chosen to succeed Spike Lee.
His mission, with the eight jurors of his team, will be to determine which film will win the Palme d'Or, the most prestigious award in the seventh art.
"It is an immense honor and a great pride to see me entrusted, in the midst of the tumult of the multiple events that we are going through in the world, the splendid and heavy task of presiding over the jury of the 75th Cannes International Film Festival", reacted Vincent Lindon in an official press release from the Festival.
“With my jury, we will do our best to take care of the films of the future, which all carry the same secret hope, courage, loyalty and freedom;
whose mission is to move the greatest number of women and men by talking to them about their wounds and their common joys.
Culture helps the human soul to rise and hope for tomorrow,” he continued.
Penélope Cruz had to decline late because of a shooting
Isabelle Huppert was the last French personality to occupy, in 2009, the presidency of the jury.
In the history of the festival, French artists have often played this role for an anniversary edition, such as Yves Montand in 1987 for the 40th Festival, Gérard Depardieu in 1992 for the 45th edition or even Isabelle Adjani in 1997 for the 50th anniversary.
Patrice Chéreau, Luc Besson or even Jeanne Moreau have also been entrusted with this responsibility.
Another hexagonal artist, the director Ladj Ly, whose powerful "Les Miserables" had won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2019 and four Césars including that of the best film, is part of the jurors.
Alongside the French, several actresses: the Swedish Noomi Rapace, unforgettable Lisbeth Salander in "Millenium".
The Italian Jasmine Trinca, seen in "The Son's Room" or "The Cayman" by Nanni Moretti, who also toured in France ("Apollonide: Memories of the closed house" by Bertrand Bonello), is part of the cast .
There will also be American directors Jeff Nichols ("Take Shelter", "Mud", or "Midnight Special"), the Iranian Asghar Farhadi ("A separation", "The Past") or the Norwegian Joachim Trier, who had directed the very remarkable "Julie in twelve chapters" (interpretation prize at Cannes 2021 for the actress Renate Reinsve).
To complete this jury, which will be responsible for designating the successor to "Titanium", by Julia Ducournau in which Vincent Lindon played: Deepika Padukone, Indian actress, and Rebecca Hall, actress, director and Anglo-American producer.
The names of the boss and the other members of the jury arrive particularly late in the festival agenda, while the list of films in competition has been known since April 14.
A delay which would be partly explained by the fact that the actress Penélope Cruz, approached, finally had to decline late because of a shooting.
Even if officially, the Festival's communication speaks of a "special year", in reference to the consequences of the pandemic, which has postponed a number of filmings.