Today, the Cannes Film Festival announced the selection of Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki as a member of the jury for the official competition of its 77th edition, which will take place from May 14 to 25. Nadine Labaki has not missed the Cannes Film Festival, as she participated with her first feature film "Caramel" in 2007 in the Directors' Fortnight competition, followed by "Where Do We Go Now?" in 2011 in the Un Certain Regard competition. She also participated with her latest film "Capernaum" in the official competition in 2018, where it received the Jury Prize and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. She served as a member of the Un Certain Regard jury in 2015 and returned as its jury president in 2019. Today she is among the prominent names on the jury for the official competition alongside acclaimed filmmaker Greta Gerwig, who directed the controversial film "Barbie" and will preside over the jury this year, making her the first American female director to hold this position. Through the appointment of Greta Gerwig, the festival also highlights its continued ties to the strong American film industry.
The jury will also include Turkish screenwriter and cinematographer Ebru Ceylan, American actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, Spanish director and screenwriter J.A. Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, and French actor and producer Omar Sy.
**Biography**
Nadine Labaki was born on February 18, 1974, in Baabdat, Lebanon. She studied media at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, and her graduation project won an award in Paris in 1998. She then turned to directing advertisements and music videos, directing numerous clips for artists, most notably Nancy Ajram. In the early 1990s, Labaki participated in a talent competition called "Studio El-Fan" led by Simon Asmar, where she entered a directing competition and presented a music video for a singer named Carla titled "Habibi Ya". After that, she created many music videos, her star shining brightly when she directed Nancy Ajram's first song "Ahbak Eh" in 2002, which achieved extraordinary success, followed by several other songs for Nancy and numerous clips for many stars, including Carol Samaha, Nicole Saba, Yuri Mrakadi, and Nawal El Zoghbi. She created a new wave in music video directing and is now considered one of the most renowned Arab female music video directors.
In 2004, Nadine Labaki attended the Cannes Film Festival to write the film "Caramel". She made her acting debut in the film "The Bus" and "Caramel" is considered her first feature film, which achieved unprecedented success in Lebanese cinema, winning many awards and participating in the huge Cannes Festival in 2007 before being distributed to dozens of countries in Europe and around the world. Nadine Labaki married Khaled Mouzanar, the composer of the film "Caramel".
**Filmography**
*Directed Films*:
- Caramel (2007)
- Where Do We Go Now? (2011)
- Capernaum (2018)
*Directed Music Videos*:
- "Tir El Gharam" (Pascal Mishalani),
- "Shoflek Hal" (Noura Rahal),
- "Ma Fina" (Katya Harb),
- "Jordan" (Guy Manoukian),
- "Jai El Haqiqah" (Star Academy),
- "Ya Shaghilni" (Nicole Saba),
- "Bhebbak Mout" (Yuri Mrakadi),
- "Ba'aynik" (Nawal El Zoghbi),
- "I'tazalt El Gharam" (Majida El Roumi).
*Acted in Films*:
- Ashes,
- Seven Dogs,
- The Bus,
- Caramel (2007),
- Where Do We Go Now? (2011),
- Rock the Casbah.
