At local time on July 10th, the 81st Venice Film Festival announced the members of the jury for the main competition section, and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, known as “International Zhang,” was among them. This marks Zhang Ziyi’s second time serving as a jury member in the main competition section of the “Big Three European Film Festivals,” following her role at the Cannes Film Festival.
In the official introduction of Zhang Ziyi by the Venice Film Festival this year, her works were mentioned, including “The Road Home,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Hero,” “House of Flying Daggers,” “2046,” “Lover’s Grief over the Yellow River,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “The Grandmaster,” as well as her directorial debut “Snow Flower,” and her latest film “Chung Yuan Alley,” directed by Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan, scheduled for release in autumn 2024.
At 45 years old, Zhang Ziyi has not only won numerous awards and nominations but also stands out as the top Chinese actress with a global box office exceeding 10 billion, and she has won 12 Best Actress awards for her role in “The Grandmaster” directed by Wong Kar Wai, breaking the record for the most awards won by a single film in history, solidifying her position in the Chinese-language film industry and earning her the title of “International Zhang.”
Deeply connected to the Cannes Film Festival, Zhang Ziyi has had a total of six films nominated at Cannes since her debut there in 2000. Additionally, she has served as a jury member at the 59th “Main Competition Section,” the 62nd “Short Films and Film Foundation Section,” and the 66th “Un Certain Regard Section,” becoming the first Asian filmmaker invited to conduct a master class at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival.
Apart from Zhang Ziyi, the jury members of this year’s Venice Film Festival also include American director James Gray, British director Andrew Haigh, Polish director Agnieszka Holland, Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako, Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore, and German director Julia von Heinz.
These eight jury members, under the leadership of jury president and French actress Isabelle Huppert, will be responsible for deciding the winners of this year’s Golden Lion Award and other awards in the main competition section.
The 81st Venice Film Festival is set to take place from August 28th to September 7th on the island of Lido in Venice, Italy. This will be Zhang Ziyi’s return as a jury member at the Venice Film Festival following her participation at Cannes, Tokyo, and other international film festivals.