Venice, July 31: Indian writer-director Anurag Kashyap of Dev D fame will be a part of the international jury at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Kashyap will be in the jury headed by Academy winning director Ang Lee that will judge the films screened in the ten day long extravaganza that begins on September 2.
The filmmaker is the only Venice first timer on the jury as all the other jury members are regulars at the festival, which is the oldest in the world. “It is an honour to be a part of such a prestigious jury. I have been with the jury of many film festivals but it is for the first time that I am going to to be part of an international festival. It is a major experience for me,” Kashyap told PTI.
“It a proud moment to represent Indian cinema in one of the world’s oldest film festivals. I am also looking forward to watch a variety of films,” Kashyap said, jokingly adding that he planned to beat Oscar-winner Ang Lee. Lee has won two of the last four top Golden Lion Awards at the prestigious European film festival for his pathbreaking gay drama Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Lust Caution in 2007.
Other members of the jury include French actress Sandrine Bonnaire, American helmer Joe Dante, his Italian counterparts Liliana Cavani and Luciano Ligabue.
The six-member-jury will decide on eight main prizes, including the Golden Lion for Best Film, the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor and Actress, the Silver Lion for Best Director and the Special Jury Prize. Bonnaire won the Coppa Volpi in 1995 for her part in Claude Chabrol’s La Ceremonie. Dante’s The Second Civil War was screened at Venice in 1997, Cavani clinched a Lion in 1965 for a documentary and Ligabue debuted at the lagoon city with his first feature Radiofreccia.
Kashyap is well known for his critically acclaimed movies such as Black Friday about the 1993 Mumbai bombings, No Smoking, Dev D and Gulal. He has also scripted movies like Ram Gopal Verma Satya. Kashyap also shared the scriptwriting title with Deepa Mehta for her Oscar nominated film Water.
–PTI