Jenna Ortega Takes Being Marrakech Film Festival’s Youngest Ever Jury Member In Her Stride: “I’m Not Intimidated”
Jenna Ortega, star of Tim Burton’s Netflix hit Wednesday, is making history at the Marrakech Film Festival this year as its youngest ever jury member.
The 23-year-actress joins a jury presided over by Cannes Palme d’Or and Oscar-winning Parasite director Bong Joon Ho.
Asked if she was holding her own in the face of her older, storied jury members, Ortega seemed to be relishing the experience.
“I’m not intimated because I think I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude. I think it would be a shame to come into this experience and be weighed down by some external pressure,” she said.
The other jury members include Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau (Titane), Oscar nominee Celine Song (Past Lives), Berlinale Best Actor winner Payman Maadi (A Separation) as well as Mad Max star Anya Taylor-Joy and respected auteur directors Karim Aïnouz and Hakim Belabbes.
They are judging 14 first and second films which include Akinola Davies Jr.’s drama My Father’s Shadow, Zamo Mkhwanazi’s Apartheid era drama Laundry, Morad Mostafa’s Aisha Can’t Fly Away and Erige Sehiri’s Promised Sky.
“At the end of the day, we’re all on the same team. We’re here to have a discussion about film, an honest discussion and I tend to be a pretty honest person, it’s very hard for me to put up a front,” she said “Obviously I have the utmost respect and have looked up to so many of these directors and filmmakers for such a long time. More than anything, I just want to be as present as possible,” she said.
Earlier in the day, Ortega had joined a discussion about the impact of AI on cinema during the jury press conference, saying she was terrified about the ramifications of the technology and that it felt like a Pandora’s box had been opened.
Ortega acknowledged that her recent role in Taika Waititi’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s poignant tale Klara and the Sun had fed into her thoughts about the future impact of AI technology. The story revolves around a solar-powered AI robot girl purchased as a companion for a gravely ill teenager.
“It’s been a while since I shot the film, but it’s entirely about that. And I remember some of the conversations we were even having was in relation to 2001, not comparing the movie to 2001 specifically, but that film is really interesting, because almost the most humane character is the robot,” she said.
“So, yeah, I think about it often, but I try not to let that influence or intimidate me in any way, shape or form, because the only way to come and deal with these hardships is to face them forward and not turn away and not shy away.”
