The international jury will select the director who will receive the Palme d'Or, as well as at least six other prizes. Ruben Östlund wants to conduct the jury work in a more open and democratic way, so that everyone on the jury can be heard.
"We're going to watch three films and then we'll talk them through. Then they have to take turns starting, so that no one dominates the conversation too much, he says and continues:
"If there's a lot of room for manoeuvre and people feel like they can say anything, then it's pretty fun and you get close to each other.
Winning film to present true world
But as chairman of the jury, he also has some clear ideas. One of them is about the films being seen together and with an audience. He also wants the jury to be aware of how their choice of film affects people.
"I want the jury to be aware of my position that we can't choose a film that we think presents a world that we don't think is true. We have to be aware that the films we choose will influence people in a certain direction. And that it is a position based on how you look at society, how you look at people when you choose a film," he says.
So what is a winning Cannes film according to Östlund?
"On the one hand, it should have the aspect that people should want to talk about it afterwards, that it should have made us experience something. Maybe from a new perspective, to think new thoughts.