Each year, the jury of the Cannes Film Festival is chaired by an internationally recognized personality of cinema. Being appointed to this position is the recognition of an outstanding career.
Since 1960, there has been only one personality to get this honor twice: Jeanne Moreau in 1975 and 1995. The last non-professional film personality to be president of the jury is the American writer William Styron in 1983.
Since 1987, the Official Selection includes a separate jury and its President in the frame of the Caméra d'Or ("Golden Camera") which chooses its best feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight, or International Critics' Week). Since 1998, another separate jury and its President have been added for the films of the Un Certain Regard section.
| Year | President | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Lambert Wilson | France |
| 2000 | Jane Birkin | United Kingdom |
| 2001 | Ariane Ascaride | France |
| 2002 | Anne Fontaine | |
| 2003 | Abderrahmane Sissako | Mali |
| 2004 | Jeremy Thomas | United Kingdom |
| 2005 | Alexander Payne | United States |
| 2006 | Monte Hellman | |
| 2007 | Pascale Ferran | France |
| 2008 | Fatih Akin | Turkey |
| 2009 | Paolo Sorrentino | Italy |
| 2010 | Claire Denis | France |
| 2011 | Emir Kusturica | Serbia |
| 2012 | Tim Roth | United Kingdom |
| 2013 | Thomas Vinterberg | Denmark |
| 2014 | Pablo Trapero | Argentine |
| 2015 | Isabella Rossellini | Italy |
| 2016 | Marthe Keller | Switzerland |
| 2017 | Uma Thurman | United States |
| 2018 | Benicio del Toro | Puerto Rico |
| 2019 | Nadine Labaki | Lebanon |
| 2021 | Andrea Arnold | United Kingdom |
| 2022 | Valeria Golino | Italy |
| 2023 | John C. Reilly | United States |
| 2024 | Xavier Dolan | Canada |