Actors Christoph Waltz and Naomi Watts are joining Oscar-winning director Guillermo Del Toro on the 2018 Venice International Film Festival jury.
The Shape of Water moviemaker was appointed jury president earlier this year (18), and now the rest of the main panel members have been revealed, as they prepare to pick the winners of the top prizes, including the coveted Golden Lion award for best film.
Among the industry professionals also taking a seat on the jury are Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, actresses Sylvia Chang, Nicole Garcia, and Trine Dyrholm, and filmmakers Paolo Genovese and Malgorzata Szumowska.
The releases set to screen in competition for the Golden Lion include Joel and Ethan Coen’s new western, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and 22 July, Paul Greengrass‘ film chronicling the horrific 2011 terror attack in Norway, which left 77 dead.
Luca Guadagnino’s hotly anticipated horror remake Suspiria, Alfonso Cuaron’s Mexican family drama Roma, and Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone’s period piece The Favourite are also up for the prestigious prize, as is Damien Chazelle’s First Man, starring Ryan Gosling as astronaut Neil Armstrong, which will open the Italian festival next month (Aug18).
Meanwhile, the jury for the Horizons contest, which is open to projects of different formats, will be headed by Greek writer/filmmaker Athina Tsangari, American-Iranian director Ramin Bahrani will lead the judges for submissions for the Lion of the Future – The Luigi De Laurentiis Venice Award for a Debut Film, and The Night Manager director Susanne Bier will help to decide the winners of the Virtual Reality competition.
The 75th Venice International Film Festival will run from 29 August to 8 September (18).
