Gilles Jacob

Gilles Jacob (born 22 June 1930) is a French film critic and essayist, who served as president of the Cannes Film Festival between 2001 and 2014.

Born in Paris, the son of an entrepreneur, Jacob studied at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, having Claude Chabrol as a schoolmate. At 17 years old he co-founded a short-lived cinema magazine, Raccords. He then collaborated as a film critic and journalist with several publications, including Cinéma, Les Nouvelles littéraires and L'Express.