BEIJING, April 24 -- Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai will head the jury for this year's Cannes Film Festival, making him the first Chinese chairman of the panel in the event's history.

    Mainland actress Zhang Ziyi of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" fame, will serve as a juror along with seven other filmmakers, including movie stars Samuel L. Jackson, Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth and Monica Bellucci, directors Lucrecia Martel of Argentina, Patrice Leconte of France, and Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman.

    The panel will have the tough task of choosing among 19 films vying for Cannes' Palme d'Or trophy, which will be awarded May 28, at the close of the 12-day festival.

    Wong, the Shanghai-born director of "In the Mood for Love," won the Cannes' Best Director prize for "Happy Together" in 1997.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)