Romanian director Cristi Puiu, part of 2020 jury of Venice International Film Festival

Romanian director Cristi Puiu will be part of the jury of the Venezia 77competition of the Venice International Film Festival.

The jury, headed by actress Cate Blanchett, will award several prizes to the feature films in this year’s competition, namely the Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Award for Best Screenplay, and Special Jury Prize Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.

The festival, at its 77th edition this year, takes place between September 2 and September 12.

Director and screenwriter Cristi Puiu made his debut as a director in 2001, with the low-cost road movie Stuff and Dough (Marfa şi banii). The film was screened in the Quinzaines section at Cannes Film Festival and is considered the film that ushered in the wave of the New Romanian Cinema.

His second feature film, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, won critical acclaim and the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005. Another film he directed, Sieranevada, was presented in official competition at Cannes in 2016. In 2020, Manor House (Malmkrog) won the award for Best Director in the Encounters section of the Berlin Film Festival.

The Venezia 77 juryincludes Austrian director and screenwriter Veronika Franz, British director and screenwriter Joanna Hogg, Italian writer Nicola Lagioia, German director and screenwriter Christian Petzold, and French actress Ludivine Sagnier.

(Photo: Denis Makarenko | Dreamstime.com)