I was in Cannes Film Festival for the screening of one of my films "At Five in the Afternoon", when Mr Serge Losique kindly invited me to be as the head of the jury for the Montreal film festival.

I have always had a mix feeling about judging artworks. Apart from that the festival was two weeks long�!

It didn't take me long to realize what I have put myself into.

When I first came across the long list of films I had to watch I told to myself this is a serious job and quietly mumbled by myself: How boring!...

To my surprise, from the third day of the festival I started to get out of the bed and go to watch the films, and feeling exactly the same kind of joy as I feel when I am on my set. At the end of the festival I said to myself this festival should have last longer�

Every single day I learnt a lot out of it; just like when I am making a new film�

Invit� du Festival et membre du Jury du Prix de la premi�re �uvre en 2003 / Festival guest and member of First Feature Prize Jury in 2003

Films pr�sent�s / Films presented:

1998

• SIB / LA POMME / THE APPLE
• Cin�ma d'aujourd'hui : reflets de notre temps / Cinema of Today: reflections of Our Time

2000

• TAKHT� SIAH / LE TABLEAU NOIR / BLACKBOARDS
• Hors concours

2003

• PANJ-E ASR / � CINQ HEURES DE L'APR�S-MIDI / AT FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON
• Hors concours / Out of Competition