TEHRAN – Iranian actress Leila Hatami, best known for her role in the Oscar-winning drama “A Separation”, has been selected for the jury of the 79th Venice International Film Festival.

The Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore is set to preside over the jury, which also consists of Argentinian director and screenwriter Mariano Cohn, Italian director and screenwriter Leonardo Di Costanzo, French director Audrey Diwan, Japanese-English screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro and Spanish director and screenwriter Rodrigo Sorogoyen, the organizers announced on Friday.

The jury will award the following official prizes to the feature films in competition:  Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay, and “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.

Hatami gained world recognition in Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation” which won her the Silver Bear at Berlinale 65. 

Since then, she has had a noted performance in “The Last Step” for which she won the best actress award at the Karlovy Vary Festival in 2012. In 2014, she was a member of the jury at Cannes.

She headed up the international jury of the 2022 Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas.

The 79th Venice International Film Festival is organized by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera. 

Officially recognized by the FIAPF – International Federation of Film Producers Association, the festival will take place at Venice Lido from August 31 to September 10.

The aim of the festival is to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. 

The festival also organizes retrospectives and tributes to major figures as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.

Photo: Actress Leila Hatami attends a press conference for her film “Pig” during the 68th Berlin International Film Festival at Grand Hyatt Hotel on February 21, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Getty Images Europe/Pascal Le Segretain)

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