'Selma' director Ava DuVernay to head international jury at Mumbai Film Festival

Hollywood filmmaker Ava Duvernay, best known for helming Oscar-nominated Martin Luther King Jr drama Selma, is set to head the international competition jury at the upcoming 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, which begins here on October 29.

DuVernay, 43, said she is thrilled to be invited for the film festival and is looking forward to celebrating the work of various directors during the eight-day movie carnival.

"I'm thrilled to have been invited to head the international jury for MAMI and look forward to celebrating the work of a diverse array of filmmakers with energetic, engaged audiences in the dynamic city of Mumbai," Duvernay said in a statement.

Besides Selma, which chronicled Martin Luther King Jr's leadership in the historic 1965 voting rights campaign, DuVernay in 2010 wrote, financed, produced and directed her first movie, I Will Follow.

She previously wrote, produced and directed the dramatic feature, Middle Of Nowhere, which earned her the 2012 Sundance Film Festival best director award.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta's real-life inspired drama Aligarh has been selected to open the film festival.

Aligarh will become the second Hindi film to open the festival since its foundation in 1998. Veteran actress Jaya Bachchan-starrer Hazar Chaurasi Ki Maa opened the festival in 1997.

The 17th Jio MAMI's Mumbai Film Festival will be held in Mumbai from October 29 to November 5.