Guillaume Laurant on the Jury of the 30th WFF

For immediate publication

Amélie Poulain Scriptwriter Guillaume Laurant
on the Jury of the 30th Montréal World Film Festival

MONTRÉAL, July 12, 2006 - French writer Guillaume Laurant, author of the screenplay of THE FABULOUS DESTINY OF AMÉLIE POULAIN (Amélie of Montmartre), will serve on the jury of the 30th edition of the Montréal World Film Festival, it was announced today.

“Guillaume Laurant, who is recognized by his peers as one of the top French screenwriters, has made a mark on European and Hollywood productions alike," said MWFF President Serge Losique. "We can count on his experience and expertise to ensure an enlightened evaluation of the films in competition at the Festival."

After extensive work in the theatre in the 1980s, Guillaume Laurant made the leap to the big screen as scriptwriter for Diane Bertrand’s UN SAMEDI SUR TERRE and UNE VIE TROP COURTE. The following year he met director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with whom he began collaborating on a number of projects, including ALIEN: RESURRECTION (1997) and THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (1998). Teaming up with Jeunet, he co-authored the original screenplay for the film THE FABULOUS DESTINY OF AMELIE POULAIN (2001), for which he was nominated for the 2002 Oscars and the French Césars, and which earned him the BAFTA Film Award for best original screenplay in the same year.

In another Jeunet collaboration, he penned the screenplay for the film adaptation of A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT (2004), based on a novel by Sébastien Japrisot. He is currently working on the film adaptation of Canadian author Yann Martel’s best-seller, LIFE OF PI, which will also be directed by Jeunet.

30th anniversary of the MWFF
The Montréal World Film Festival will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary this year from August 24 to September 4. The only general category competitive film festival in North America that is recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), the MWFF has promoted cultural diversity since it was founded in 1977.

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