Paris, Apr 16: US actress Meg Ryan and director Steven Soderbergh are among the eight personalities including popular Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai, joining jury President Patrice Chereau to judge next month's Cannes Film Festival, organizers announced today. French actors Jean Rochefort and Karin Viard, directors Danis Tanovic of Bosnia and Jiang Wen of China, and Italian writer Erri de Luca will also be on the jury for the May 14-25 event. The directors on the jury are all past Cannes winners: Soderbergh took home the coveted Golden Palm prize for best film in 1989 for "Sex, Lies and Videotape", while Tanovic won for best screenplay in 2001 for "No Man's Land".

The Chinese director took home the grand jury prize in 2000 for his "Devils On The Doorstep".
In January, Chereau -- a French film, theatre and opera director who won two awards at Cannes for his 1994 film "Queen Margot" -- was named jury president of the prestigious festival on the French Riviera.

The panel is tasked with attributing the Palme d'Or and lesser prizes to the films listed in the official competition of the festival. Those movies selected are to be announced on April 23.


The Cannes festival is the world's premiere showcase for international film and often the launching pad for several features that go on to big success in the box office and at the following year's Oscars in the United States. Bureau Report