The multi awarded filmmaker’s 2015 masterpiece Ida won the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film, becoming the first Polish film to do so. His most recent film, Cold War, earned him the Best Director Prize at the Festival de Cannes 2018 and three nominations for Best Director, Best Photography and Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. It also won five awards at the 2018 European Film Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenwriter.

The Cannes jury will be presided over by Mexican director/producer/screenwriter Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu. The festival runs 14 – 25 May 2019.