Martin Scorsese served as president of the main competition jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998.
The 51st Cannes Film Festival ran from May 13 to May 24, 1998. Scorsese chaired the international jury that awarded the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or. The jury included figures such as Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Chen Kaige, Lena Olin, and Michael Winterbottom.
The Palme d’Or went to Greek director Theo Angelopoulos for Eternity and a Day. Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful won the Grand Prize of the Jury, while John Boorman received Best Director for The General. The festival opened with Primary Colors and closed with Godzilla.
A common mix-up is confusing the main competition jury with Cannes’ other juries. Since 1987, a separate Caméra d’Or jury has selected the best first feature, and Cannes added an Un Certain Regard jury in 1998. Scorsese’s role was specifically president of the main competition jury, not one of those parallel sections.