The iconic Spanish filmmaker will serve as President of the main competition jury for the first time.
Pedro Almodóvar is no stranger to the Cannes Film Festival: in 2004 Bad Education opened the festival; 10 years ago he was on the official poster for the festival’s 60th edition; and he received the most recent of his five Palme d’Or nominations in 2016 for Julieta.
This year, however, the famously flamboyant Spanish auteur is returning to the world’s most prestigious film festival in a different capacity, as President of the Jury.
Responding to Pierre Lescure and Thierry Frémaux’s invitation, Almodóvar said: “I am grateful, honoured and a bit overwhelmed. I am aware of the responsibility that entails being the president of the jury and I hope to be up to the job. I can only tell that I’ll devote myself, body and soul, to this task, that it is both a privilege and a pleasure.”
Almodóvar has sat on the Jury once before, in 1992 under the presidency of Gérard Depardieu, with that year’s Palme d’Or going to Billie August’s The Best Intentions. This will be the first time that a Spanish filmmaker has the final say on proceedings.
Given his legacy of punk, protest-fuelled storytelling often centring on the lives of oppressed and always passionate women, we’re expecting this year’s top prize to go to the most original and uncompromising work in the competition line-up, which will be announced in mid-April.
The Cannes Film Festival runs 17-8 May 2017.
Published 31 Jan 2017
By Matt Thrift
With the Spanish maestro back in action we take a look back at his formative years.
The legendary Spanish filmmaker throws open the doors of his Madrid work space to the hungry eyes of LWLies.
Pedro Almodóvar is back to his very best with this beautiful, quietly devastating portrait of a broken woman.
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
