Jeon Do-yeon arrives in Cannes

Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon, left, and American director Sofia Coppola attend the opening ceremony of this year’s Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on Thursday (KST). /AFP-Yonhap

By Kim Tong-hyung

Jeon Do-yeon graced the red carpet with an elegant black dress and heels at the opening ceremony of this year’s Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on Thursday (KST).

eon, a star of several critically acclaimed films such as "Secret Sunshine” (2007) and “The Housemaid” (2010), joins jury president Jane Campion and other influential figures in world cinema, including Sofia Coppola, Willem Dafoe and Gael Garcia Bernal. Chinese director Jia Zhangke, French actress Carole Bouquet, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn and Iranian actress Leila Hatami complete the list.

Previous Korean jury members at Cannes included late director Shin Sang-ok (1926-2006), at the 1994 event, and director Lee Chang-dong for the 2009 event. Lee was the director of ``Secret Sunshine,’’ which won Jeon the best actress award at the 60th Cannes festival in 2007.

Nineteen films are in competition at Cannes this year and the jury will decide the winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or award and the main prizes such as best actress and best actor.

The films in competition for this year’s event includes Mike Leigh’s ``Mr. Turner,’’ a life story of artist JMW Turner; Ken Loach’s "Jimmy’s Hall," which dramatizes the deportation of a 1930s Irish activist; and Tommy Lee Jones' period western ``The Homesman.’’