Gondry named Cannes jury head

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CANNES, France, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Film director Michel Gondry is to head up the short film and Cinefondation jury of France's 64th Festival de Cannes, organizers said.

Previous heads of this jury include Atom Egoyan, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Martin Scorsese and John Boorman.

Gondry has helmed seven feature films including "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "The Science of Sleep," "Be Kind, Rewind" and "The Green Hornet," as well as several shorts and more than 70 music videos.

Organizers said in a posting on the festival's Web site Gondry, who is also a musician, "has created an incredibly original body of work colored with dream-scape qualities and Utopian ideals."

"A master craftsman, a modern-day Melies, he is a cinemagician who constantly reinvents the technical effects and enchantments of the medium of film," the posting said.

At Cannes, Gondry, alongside his fellow jury members, will award the three Cinefondation prizes May 20 and the Palme d'Or for the best short film at the closing ceremony May 22.