President of Jury 2022 : Jenna Suru

Actress, festival director, screenwriter and producer. Have we forgotten something? Perhaps we have, knowing Jenna Suru. 

Before discovering her human qualities, let us make a premise. Commitment and creativity for an artist are the driving force of his or her life. In fact, the most important personalities in the film industry usually offer viewers not only their directorial work, but so much more. We can cite several examples, including Scorsese and Spielberg. The latter dedicate their lives to the seventh art, they are not just directors. Jenna Suru, in addition to her commitment as an actress and director, such as L’Âge d’Or written, directed and starring herself, is also a festival director. That’s right, you guessed it, Jenna Suru curates the Paris International Film Festival, an event that recently hosted the international premiere of Kiss The Ground, the environmental documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson, and Cream, the modern-day romance by Nóra Lakos now streaming on HBO. 

As if all this were not enough, despite her very young age, Jenna Suru founded and runs a film production company called Belle Epoque Films.

Among the shorts, feature films and web series is The bigger picture, the work starring Robert Sheehan, the star of Misfits and The Umbrella Academy. The film is about a couple, love and toxic relationships. Belle Epoque films, this aspect tha -t might seem merely productive, actually says a lot about Jenna Suru, who is not only looking for her next idea but also for new talent. One of these is certainly Vanessa Pellegrin who, thanks to Belle Epoque Films, has realised “The Trouble with the F word”, a documentary discussing feminism and anti-feminism. Jenna Suru’s is a life dedicated to cinema, as we anticipated. L’Âge d’Or received its first distinction at the Columbus International Film & Animation Festival, the longest running film festival in the United States. On the back of this success, followed numerous Opening and Closing Gala Selections, and ‘L’Âge d’Or’ has just received considerable success at the 33rd edition of Academy Award Qualifying Cinequest where it screened as a Spotlight and Official Selection. 

This last curiosity is another detail in a truly endless CV. From all this talk about Jenna Suru, it shines through how she devotes herself to this craft in different channels, because for a cinephile, for an artist, the desire for cinema never ends. We end this introduction by juror Jenna Suru with a statement from her: “I make films about artists who achieve an international impact for positive change”. This idea very much reflects our vision of cinema, which is never only entertainment but also politics, i.e. something that affects us all.

Credit : Big Picture Film Club

This last curiosity is another detail in a truly endless CV. From all this talk about Jenna Suru, it shines through how she devotes herself to this craft in different channels, because for a cinephile, for an artist, the desire for cinema never ends.  We end this introduction by juror Jenna Suru with a statement from her: “I make films about artists who achieve an international impact for positive change”. This idea very much reflects our vision of cinema, which is never only entertainment but also politics, i.e. something that affects us all. 

Finally, we would like to say that we believe very much in Jenna Suru’s voice and we are sure that those competing for the awards will find in her not only a president of juror but also an inspiration. Thank you for your attention.

Social media and links: 

Jennasuru.com PIFF website : parisintlfest.com 

@jennasurureal on Instagram, Jenna Suru on Facebook, @jennasuru on Twitter

@lagedorfilm on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook