Queer Palm President Julie Gayet

The 2012 Queer Palm Jury was announced this week - which will bestow the LGBT
Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm award on the best film with a gender,
and LGBT perspective on May 27 in Cannes. The films are selected from
the Official selection, Un Certain Regard, Semaine de la
Critique, Quinzaine des Réalisateurs and ACID (selection of independents
film-makers) -  about 100 films.

Last year that prize was given to Oliver Hermanus, South-African director for “Beauty” (“Skoonheid”).

This year's jury was announced by Franck Finance-Madureira, Journalist, Queer Palm’s founder and organizer.

The 2012 Queer Palm’s president  is actress and producer (France) Julie Gayet.

Four questions were put to Gayet about the Queer Palm awards, now in its third year:

Why did you accept to be the jury’s president for this third edition of the Queer Palm ?
It
was obvious!!! It is consistent with films I have always worked in,
such as “Confusion of genders” by Ilan Duran Cohen, “Why not me ?”  by
Stéphane Giusti, or the role I held in “My best friend” by Patrice
Leconte…

What does this prize mean to you ?
It
is essentially about films, cinema, new talents, and directors who
abandon the beaten path and make films because they have things to say.

Do you have any cult film on these topics ?
“Some like it Hot” by Billy Wilder
“Ma vie en rose »  by Alain Berliner
« When night is falling” by Patricia Rozema
“O Fantasma” by Joao Pedro Rodrigues
And last year, “Tomboy” by Céline Sciamma

How do you regard your role as the president, and which orientation do you intend to give to the prize ?
Above
all, we are part of the largest film festival in the world, which
selects a considerable amount of films. The film we will reward will not
be chosen only because it comes from a particular type of category, but
rather for its cinematography as well as what it is telling us.

The jury also consists of Sam Ashby,  a London-based film poster designer and founder and editor of Little Joe, a magazine about queers and cinema, Jim Dobson, a leading entertainment publicist for films with gay and lesbian themes (Los Angeles), Sarah Neal, Head of Programming at Brisbane Powerhouse and Festival Director of the Brisbane Queer Film Festival, Frédéric Niolle, assistant director and a film journalist for Paris Première and Radio France and Moira Sullivan, San Francisco - Examiner.com, Movie Magazine International, San Francisco and Filmfestivals.com.