Why Cannes jury president Alejandro González Iñárritu is one-of-a-kind

With six feature-length films, Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, born in 1963 in Mexico City, has worked his way to the top. Having won back-to-back best film Oscars, he is undoubtedly one of the most important film directors in contemporary cinema. There is almost no international film award he has not already won; even his debut was a sensation.

Iñárritu's first major directing appearance in the film world was a considerable success. "Amores Perros," his feature-length feature film about the hardships of life in Mexico City, won two important awards at the Cannes Festival in 2000 before subsequently winning several other international awards. It featured Mexican actor Gael García Bernal (pictured).

Iñárritu's second feature film, "21 Grams," confirmed the director's artistic prowess. In this highly dramatic movie from 2003, Sean Penn (pictured) plays a man who just had heart surgery. The movie, which breaks into individual narrative fragments, plays with different story lines that elegantly come together at its conclusion.

In his next film, "Babel" (2006), the director again does away with the standard linear narrative. Yet, despite his unorthodox storytelling, he managed to get big Hollywood stars to sign on. Babel features Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt, among others.

In his next feature-length film, "Biutiful" (2010), the Mexican director switches cinematic styles to tell his tale, which is set in Spain. Javier Bardem plays a cancer-stricken family man in Barcelona torn between petty crime and religious devotion. Bardem won a Best Actor award in Cannes for his role.

In 2015, Iñárritu finally conquered Hollywood with his dark comedy, "Birdman." With its satirical twist on the tale of a worn-out movie star played by Michael Keaton (left), he won four Oscars. Once again, it proved that this director has something to say artistically, while still captivating a commercial audience.

Iñárritu once again showed off his directing mastery in his portrayal of one man's battle with the elements in "The Revenant." Shot in 2015 in the vast forests of Canada and South America, actors and crew worked in the wilderness, far from the comforts of Hollywood. lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio who won an Oscar for his role.

His most recent finished film is a powerful virtual reality piece. In "Carne y Arena" (Flesh & Sand) from 2017, viewers are given the opportunity to live the experience of a Mexican or Central American refugee crossing the desert at night to enter the US. Iñárritu interviewed 120 migrants about their experiences to write the script.

On May 25th, after all of the competition films have been viewed and debated, Iñárritu will announce a winner. It seems likely that the director, who has already received many awards himself, including eight Oscars, will help make the right choice.