British director Frears to preside over Cannes jury

Stephen Frears, one of the U.K.'s most popular directors, has been selected to helm the jury at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Organizers made the announcement Thursday, with the 60th edition of the glitzy festival set to unspool in the French Riviera city May 16-27.

"Of course, it's an honour, but it's also a treat to be able to watch terrific films from all over the world in such heady surroundings," the director said in a statement.

"God Save Cannes (as well as the Queen)."

Festival president Gilles Jacob praised Frears as a "great, inspired filmmaker, endowned with freedom of mind and love of making films."

Frears has most recently won acclaim for his Royal portrait The Queen, starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II. Released in 2006, the movie is set during the period following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

The drama, which shows the Royal Family in crisis, has won universal acclaim from critics around the world, including being named the best picture of 2006 by the Toronto Film Critics Association.

The movie, Frears and Mirren have scored nominations for multiple film awards, including the Golden Globes, the Critics' Choice Awards and the Directors Guild Awards. The Queen is also seen as a favourite leading up to the Academy Awards.

Frears's film resumé also includes the titlesMrs. Henderson Presents, Dirty Pretty Things, High Fidelity, The Grifters, Accidental Hero, Dangerous Liaisons and My Beautiful Laundrette. He presented his film Prick Up Your Ears at Cannes in 1987.

The British filmmaker will preside over the as-yet-unnamed jury that decides on the winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or, the festival's highest honour.