American actress Halle Berry and "Succession" star Jeremy Strong will be on the jury at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which will be headed by French actress Juliette Binoche, organizers said.

Berry and Strong will be joined by French-Moroccan best-selling author Leila Slimani, Indian director Payaal Kapadia, and Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher, who will be part of a predominantly female jury.

The jury will also include South Korean director Hong Sang-soo, Mexican director Carlos Reygadas, and documentary filmmaker Dieudo Hamadi from the Democratic Republic of Congo, AFP reported.

They will be responsible for viewing the 21 films participating in this year's competition and awarding the prestigious Palme d'Or at the end of the 78th edition. The festival will take place from May 13 to 24.

The female majority on the jury is important as organizers are under pressure to give more visibility to female directors and show that they are seriously tackling gender inequality and sexual harassment.

President Iris Knobloch promised that the festival would be "attentive" to the recommendations of a grueling parliamentary investigation into #MeToo abuses in the film industry, which reported its findings earlier this month.

Only seven of the films in the main competition were made by female directors, which is the highest number ever.

Australian actress Nicole Kidman will receive the tenth Women in Motion award at this year's festival. The award honors individuals who "advance the role of women in film and society," the organizers said.

Little-known French director Amélie Bonnen has been given the honor of opening the festival on May 13 with her debut film Leave One Day. This is the first time a debut film will open the world's most prestigious film festival.

Last year, the festival jury was chaired by American director Greta Gerwig ("Barbie") and included French actor Omar Sy and Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda. | BGNES