Austraian actor Christoph Waltz Double Oscar-winning Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, Hong Kong heart-throb Tony Leung and French filmmaker Michel Gondry will be jurors at next month's Berlin film festival, headed by US producer James Schamus, organisers said Tuesday.
Schamus' diverse resume includes the Oscar-winning 2005 gay cowboy drama "Brokeback Mountain" on which he worked with director Ang Lee, one of a string of such collaborations.
For more than a decade, Schamus led Focus Features and was involved in producing films such as "Lost in Translation", "Milk", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Dallas Buyers Club".
The 64th Berlinale, the first major European cinema showcase of the year, will open on February 6 with an all-star romp by US director Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel", and wrap up on February 16.
The international jury hands out the festival's top Golden and Silver Bear awards in the competition.
Schamus is no stranger to the Berlin film festival after "The Wedding Banquet", another collaboration with Ang Lee, carried off the Golden Bear in 1993.
The American also co-wrote the 2000 Mandarin-language international hit "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
"As one of independent cinema's most important champions, James Schamus knows the balancing act between Hollywood's studio system and art-house cinema better than anyone," the festival's organisers said in a statement.
Leung, who appeared in the 2000 hit "In the Mood for Love", starred in "The Grandmaster", a martial arts epic about the mentor of kung fu superstar Bruce Lee which opened the 2013 Berlin film festival.
Long a well-known face among German-speaking audiences, Austria's Waltz is best known internationally for his parts in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" and "Django Unchained" for which he won two Oscars.
Fellow jury members include US actress and filmmaker Greta Gerwig, Iranian filmmaker Mitra Farahani, Danish actress Trine Dyrholm and Barbara Broccoli, the daughter of "James Bond" producer Albert Broccoli who, on his death, took over their production with her brother.
Source: AFP