Luc Besson heads Beijing film festival jury

French director Luc Besson [File photo]

French director Luc Besson has agreed to be the president for the international jury of the Fifth Beijing International Film Festival's Tiantan Awards, organizers said Monday.

The annual festival will be held from April 16 - 23, 2015 in Beijing. Besson will act as chairman of the jury panel while the other jurors have not yet been revealed.

Luc Besson, a pivotal figure in the Cinéma du look movement, is a popular name in China for his 1994 classic "Léon: The Professional" and more. His latest film "Lucy" took 275 million yuan (US$44.17 million) at China's box offices as one of the top grossing films in 2014, while the French-Canadian action film "Brick Mansions," which stars the late Paul Walker and is a remake of a Luc Besson classic, also performed well and made 188 million yuan (US$30.2 million).

Besson attended the Fourth Beijing International Film Festival as a VIP guest and was on panels with Chinese filmmakers at several movie forums in April 2014. The organizers said Besson has rarely accepted invitations to be a jury president at other film festivals except the Cannes Film Festival and the fact that he chose to be China's the head of the jury in China indicates that he pays attention to and has many expectations for the Chinese film market and industry.

The jury will vote for 10 awards including Best Picture and Best Director. They will present 10 Tiantan Awards during the festival's closing ceremony on April 23.