Oscar winning actor Benicio del Toro will serve as president of the jury of Un Certain Regard at the 2018 Cannes Film Fest.
He won the 2000 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in Soderbergh’s Traffic.
Del Toro succeeds Uma Thurman as president of Certain Regard, the sidebar at Cannes that focuses on films with unusual themes or storytelling techniques. About 20 works compete in the section.
Del Toro has had a long association with Cannes. He served on the main competition jury eight years ago, which awarded the Palme d’Or to Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.”
In 2008, Del Toro won the best actor award in Cannes for his performance in the title role of Soderbergh’s “Che,” about Che Guevara.
In 2012, he appeared on the Croisette in support of his directorial debut, “El Yuma,” one of the segments in the Spanish-language anthology “7 Days in Havana,” which competed in Un Certain Regard.