PARIS: Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg will head up this year's Cannes Film Festival jury, the organisers announced Thursday.

Spielberg, 66, will head up the Cannes jury that runs between May 15 and May 26 this year. He has presented several films at the festival.

His work cuts across a broad spectrum “between entertainment films and serious reflections on history, racism and the human condition,” Cannes festival organisers said in a statement.

Thierry Fremaux, of the festival's organising committee, said of Spielberg that “his films, but also his wide-ranging commitment, make him, year after year, the equal of the greatest Hollywoods filmmakers.”

“We are proud to welcome him.”

Although most of the films Spielberg has presented at Cannes were not in competition, his 1974 film “Sugarland Express” picked up the best screenplay prize.