Berlin Film Festival announces head of jury

BERLIN - Agence France-Presse

Chinese director Wong Kar Wai will lead the jury of the 63rd Berlin film festival. AFP photo

Award-winning Chinese director Wong Kar Wai will lead the jury of the 63rd Berlin film festival in February, which traditionally highlights Asian cinema, organisers said yesterday.
 
Wong, best known for his 2000 slow-burn drama “In the Mood for Love,” will lead a panel that will tap the winners of the Golden and Silver Bear prizes at one of Europe’s top cinema showcases running Feb. 7 to 17.
 
“Wong Kar Wai is one of the most celebrated film-makers of our time. His distinctive signature and the poetry of his works have fascinated all of us,” festival director Dieter Kosslick said in a statement.
 
“For him to become jury president is a wish come true. Since the 1980s, the Berlinale has established itself as a platform for contemporary Chinese cinema, which is another reason why we are greatly honoured that Wong Kar Wai will be presiding (over) the International Jury 2013.” The festival quoted Wong, who was born in Shanghai and grew up in Hong Kong, as saying he was “truly honored” by the invitation.

In 2006, Wong became the first Chinese director to sit on the jury at Cannes, where he had picked up a best director prize in 1997 for “Happy Together.”