(SIGNIS / INTERFILM). Since 1974, the Ecumenical jury is invited by the Cannes Film Festival to award a Prize to a film in the official competition. SIGNIS and INTERFILM elect a jury composed of six members, coming from different cultures and countries.
Renewed each year, they are professionals in the cinema field as journalists, critics, theologists, teachers… They are members of one of the Christian Church and are open to interreligious dialogue. They meet at multiple times during the festival, analyse, comment the films and deliberate in complete independence. The Ecumenical jury has a particular perspective on the films: It distinguishes works that show both artistic and human qualities, that reflect the deepness of the soul and the complexity of the world, that evince justice, human dignity, respect for the environment, peace, solidarity, reconciliation… values of the Gospel that are widely shared across all cultures. In its choices, the Ecumenical jury shows an openness to cultural, social or religious diversity. At the end of the Festival, during an official ceremony, the Jury gives its prize in attendance of official guests, the press and awarded directors. Since 1974, the Ecumenical Jury awarded 48 prizes and 57 commendations.
THE 2021 JURY
Douglas P. Fahleson (Ireland), President
Douglas P. Fahleson is a writer, director and producer. He has served on various SIGNIS and Ecumenical juries at international film festivals. He is also a film critic and has helped to organize a number of film evenings at local parishes throughout the Dublin region. He has been a SIGNIS Europe delegate since 2013 and was instrumental in helping to organize the global SIGNIS TV Seminar 2018.
Mariángeles Almacellas (Spain)
Mariángeles Almacellas holds a doctorate in Philosophy and Education Sciences (UCM) and a degree in Hispanic Philology, graduated in theological education, film critic, expert in virtue education through film, vice-president of SIGNIS Spain, member of various ecumenical and SIGNIS juries, author of several books and articles on education and film.
Peter Ciaccio (Italy)
Peter Ciaccio serves the Waldensian and Methodist Churches in Trieste (Italy) as a pastor. Among the founders of the Associazione Protestante Cinema “Roberto Sbaffi”, he was member of Ecumenical Juries in Locarno and Warsaw. He graduated at the Waldensian Faculty of Theology in Rome with a thesis on the pastoral characters in Ingmar Bergman’s works. He is honorary citizen of Palermo.
Anne-Claire de Gaujac (France)
Anne-Claire de Gaujac is an engineer in the field of spatial cartography. For the past ten years, she has been a facilitator for Cin’Azur association organizing film-debates within the framework of the Permanent Training Service of the Diocese of Nice. She was a SIGNIS juror at the Festival Lumières d’Afrique in Besançon.
Ingrid Glatz (Switzerland)
Ingrid Glatz was a protestant-reformed pastor. She is currently working on a doctoral thesis on “theology and film”. Co-founder of INTERFILM Switzerland and its co-president. Vice-President of INTERFILM international. Member of the INTERFILM jury in Saarbrücken; member of the ecumenical jury in Miskolc, Mannheim and Lübeck. Festival delegate of INTERFILM for Miskolc and for Locarno.
Maxime Pouyane (France)
Maxime Pouyanne, photographer, videographer, has a degree in editing and a master’s degree in scriptwriting from the Paris Film School. He has worked as a television editor and makes short films which he also writes. In addition, he works independently on a number of different projects from framing and vidéo editing. Member of the Toulouse group Pro-Fil, he has been writing film reviews for the Ecumenical Jury website since 2016.
