Chinese actor Zhang Zhen joins 71st Cannes Festival's jury

Chinese actor Zhang Zhen is among the 71st Cannes Film Festival's eight jury members, chaired by Australian actress and producer Cate Blanchett, the festival organizers said Wednesday in a statement.

Born in 1976, Zhang started his career with Edward Yang's Beautiful Summer Day in 1991 and became famous with Ang Lee's Tiger and Dragon in 2000.

Several of his films, such as Happy Together, Three Times and The Assassin, competed for the festival's top prize.

Four women and four men will accompany Blanchett during the cinematographic contest and will reveal the winners on May 19 during the closing ceremony, where the Palme d'Or film will be screened.

Along with Zhang will be French director Robert Guediguian, Canadian director Denis Villeneuve and Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev.

The four female members of the jury are American director Ava DuVernay, Burundian composer Khadja Nin, French actress Lea Seydoux and American actress Kristen Stewart.

Last week, festival's organizers said 18 films were selected to compete for the top prize Palme d'Or of this annual film event. Chinese director Jia Zhangke will be the sole representative of Chinese cinema this year with "Ash Is Purest White".

The 71st Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 8 to 19.