US actor Robert De Niro will chair the jury of this year’s Cannes film festival, which opens May 11 on the French Riviera, organisers announced yesterday.

Mr De Niro, 67, will the third American in four years to head the jury of the world’s most prestigious film festival, after director Tim Burton in 2010 and actor-director Sean Penn in 2008.

“The Cannes Film Festival is a rare opportunity for me as it is one of the oldest and one of the best in the world,” the 67-year-old Oscar-winner said in a statement.

Two of De Niro’s films have won the coveted Palme d’Or at previous Cannes festivals: Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver in 1976, and 10 years later, The Mission directed by Roland Joffe. As jury chairman, silver-haired De Niro will steer the panel that will decide the winning feature films at Cannes.

In selecting him, organisers said they wanted to honour not only his acting talent, but also the Tribeca Film Festival – which he helped establish in his native New York a decade ago – and its sister festival in the Gulf.

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