Lio to Chair Emerging Talent Jury at Deauville Festival

Deauville – 21 July 2026: Singer and actress Lio will chair the Emerging Talent Jury at the 52nd Deauville American Film Festival. The festival organization announced this on Tuesday. The event in the Norman coastal city is scheduled to take place from September 4 to 13, 2026. At the same time, actor and director Roschdy Zem will chair the main jury.

With Lio’s appointment, the festival is completing its jury structure for the upcoming edition. The Emerging Talent Jury is one of the event’s defining competition formats: it focuses on new artistic voices and filmmakers at the beginning of their careers. The selection of an artist who has worked across music, film and theater for decades underscores the ambition to incorporate diverse experiences from the French cultural sector into the jury’s work.

Lio, whose real name is Vanda Maria Ribeiro Furtado Tavares de Vasconcelos, was born in Portugal and grew up in Belgium. She has been known as a singer since the early 1980s, while also building a long-standing career as an actress. Her appointment therefore brings together a pop career that gained broad recognition in the French-speaking world with experience in both auteur and mainstream cinema.

Meanwhile, Roschdy Zem will chair the main jury. In 2006, the French actor and filmmaker shared the Best Actor award in Cannes with the ensemble of “Indigenes”, and in 2020 he won the César for Best Actor for his role in “Roubaix, une lumière”. His appointment had already been announced in June. The two chairs represent different generations and professional paths within French cinema.

The Deauville Festival remains one of Europe’s most important showcases for American cinema outside the United States. According to the organizers, the 52nd edition is set to screen around 100 films in eight categories across three venues: the Centre International de Deauville, the Casino Lucien Barrière and the Le Morny cinema. In addition to the competitions, previews, meetings with filmmakers and tributes are part of the traditional program.

The announcement of the Emerging Talent Jury comes just under seven weeks before the festival begins. Details regarding the full jury lineup and film selection have yet to be announced. For the organizers, the gradual naming of prominent jury chairs is an early indication of the positioning of the 2026 edition: Deauville is relying on well-known French figures without abandoning the transatlantic focus of its event, which has been held since 1975.