Kenyan actress, Lupita Nyong’o, has scored another first when she became the first black person in history to be made head of the Berlin International Film Festival jury.
The annual film showcase event, also known as the Berlinale, which is one of the five largest film festivals in the world, has not had a black jury head in its 74-year history.
According to the organisers,
Nyong’o will lead the jury in selecting the winning films in the two main categories, “Golden and Silver Bears.”
At the opening of the event in the German capital on Thursday, Nyong’o said she was “greatly honoured” to take on the position as jury head.
“That’s the beauty of bringing people together from different backgrounds – we respond to different things,” the Hollywood actress who won an Oscar for “12 Years A Slave” in 2014, said.
“We have a lot of world experience and opinion and it’s gonna be interesting. It’s probably also gonna be spicy,” she added, noting that the diversity of the jury would enrich the jury’s process of deciding on the films to award.
The film event will run until 25 February, when the jury will announce the winning films in the major categories.
From the African continent, three films made the entry among the 20 competing for the top prize, and all tell stories from the continent.
The films include “Black Tea” by Mauritanian-born Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako, “Who Do I Belong To” by Tunisian-Canadian director Meryam Joobeur and the documentary “Dahomey” by French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop.