US director Darren Aronofsky – the man behind Oscar-winning films Black Swan and The Wrestler – will head the jury for the Venice film festival which starts on August 31, organisers said.

Mr Aronofsky “is a key figure of contemporary cinema,” the Venice Biennale said in a statement ahead of the festival, which runs until September 10. The director won a Golden Lion award in Venice in 2008 for The Wrestler and his Black Swan starring Natalie Portman opened the festival in 2010.

The festival last year was won by Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere and the jury was headed by another famous US director, Quentin Tarantino.

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