Cannes Film Festival President Iris Knobloch Re-Elected for Second Term

Iris Knobloch, the respected former boss of Warner Bros. France and Germany who became the first female president of the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, has been re-elected by the festival’s board for another three-year mandate.

The German-born, Paris-based executive will continue working alongside Cannes Film Festival’s longtime general delegate and artistic director Thierry Fremaux, who remains in charge of the official selection.

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Knobloch was elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals. She succeeded Pierre Lescure as Cannes president.

Knobloch stepped down from WarnerMedia in June 2021 after a 25-year tenure in a variety of leadership roles. She later launched a $300-million European special purpose acquisition company with backers including Francois-Henri Pinault, the French billionaire businessman who runs the luxury brand Kering, an official sponsor of Cannes Film Festival since 2015.

Since the arrival of Knobloch at Cannes, the festival has maintained its stance towards streamers whose movies are welcomed in competition as long as they can be released in French theaters. While this policy, created in 2017, has prompted Netflix to desert Cannes and bring their movies to either Venice or Toronto, it has allowed Cannes to showcase more diverse lineups with indie gems curated by Fremaux and his selection committee.

This year, the festival is playing a bigger-than-ever role in the awards season with several Cannes selections in the Oscar race, notably Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez,” Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” and Sean Baker’s “Anora.”

The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will take place May 13-24. The official selection will be unveiled around mid-April.

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