The Bermuda International Film Festival has announced the jury members for the Bermuda Shorts competition.

Director Mike Newell, whose credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral and Harry Potter and the Goblets of Fire, will act as chairman.

He will be joined by film-maker Amanda Renee Knox, whose film Night Call won the Bermuda Shorts competition at the 2018 festival, along with Meg Thomas, the senior vice-president for worldwide content at the Globalgate Entertainment division of film distributor Lionsgate.

Jury members will watch 39 short films, chosen from about 600 submissions, before a winner is chosen.

Biff is a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards in the live-action short film category, so the winning film is will be submitted for Oscar consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences without a requirement for a theatrical release.

Mr Newell won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for best film for the hit romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral.

His work on the film also earned him the David Lean Award for direction.

As the director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mr Newell became the first British director to helm an instalment of the popular franchise.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, his other directing credits include Donnie Brasco, Mona Lisa Smile, Prince of Persia, Great Expectations, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. He has also served as executive producer on several films, including Traffic and High Fidelity.

Mr Newell will also be honoured with the Biff 2019 Prospero Award for outstanding achievement in film at the Bermuda Shorts awards reception on Sunday at 6pm at Hamilton City Hall.

Festival tickets are available online at biff.ptix.bm or at the door.