Scottish actress Tilda Swinton, an Academy Award winner, will be president of the jury at upcoming Berlin film festival due on Feb. 5-15, 2009, organizer of the festival announced on Wednesday.

Swinton is one of the "most prominent and versatile" acting talents of her generation, praised the organizer.

Swinton has received numerous international film awards, most recently the 2008 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Michael Clayton.

"I'm pleased that the wonderful Tilda Swinton will be our Jury President in 2009," said Dieter Kosslick, director of the Berlin film festival, or "Berlinale" in German jargon.

"Her commanding screen presence has made an indelible impression in contemporary, innovative filmmaking," Kosslick added.

Tilda Swinton made her screen debut in 1986 in Derek Jarman's Caravaggio, which received a Silver Bear in the Competition of the Berlin International Film Festival.

In 1992, Swinton gained international recognition in Orlando, based on the novel by Virginia Woolf, which she developed with director Sally Potter over five years. Tilda Swinton has since become one of the most sought-after actresses, playing a wide range of roles, switching effortlessly between large Hollywood productions and European art house films.

(CRI November 13, 2008)