OSCAR nominee Michael Clarke Duncan is to chair the jury of the Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF).

Mr. Clarke Duncan (pictured)was nominated in 2000, in the category of Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for his character John Coffey, the mouse-loving inmate in The Green Mile.

"Michael heads an illustrious jury of people who are leaders in their respective industry fields," said Festival director Aideen Ratteray Pryse in making the announcement yesterday. "We are delighted to bring such a diverse and talented group of industry people to Bermuda."

Joining Mr. Clarke Duncan on the jury are actress Judy Greer, screenwriter Jeff Arch, composer John Debney, former BIFF winners Srdjan Vuletic and Fanta Regina Nacro, and film publicist Bonnie Voland.

"Michael Clarke Duncan's unforgettable performance as John Coffey in The Green Mile received massive critical acclaim," a BIFF spokesperson added. "He was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe award and a Screen Actors Guild award, and received the Broadcast Film Critics Award, Saturn Award and Black Reel Award for his portrayal of John Coffey."

The actor has also appeared in the movies Daredevil, The Scorpion King, Planet of the Apes, See Spot Run, The Whole Nine Yards, Armageddon, Bulworth, The Player's Club and A Night at the Roxbury.

Judy Greer currently stars in Wes Craven's Cursed. Her film credits include The Village, 13 Going on 30, I Love Your Work, Adaptation, The Wedding Planner, What Women Want, Three Kings, and Kissing a Fool. This summer she will be seen in Elizabethtown.

Of the remaining jury members:

Composer John Debney has more than 50 feature films to his credit, including Elf and Bruce Almighty. His score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ debuted on Billboard's charts as the number one soundtrack and the number one Christian album and reached number 19 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart.

Director and screenwriter Jeff Arch broke into screenwriting with his script for the film, Sleepless in Seattle.Sleepless was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Screenplay, and two Golden Globe Awards.

Director Srdjan Vuletic's feature film, Summer in the Golden Valley, won the Best Narrative Feature award at BIFF 2004. The film, Srdjan's feature film debut, also won a VPRO Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2004 as well as awards at festivals in Sofia, Brussels and Naples.

Fanta Regina Nacro won the Bermuda Shorts Award at BIFF 2001 for her film, Close Up on Bintou, an exploration of women's role in modern African society.

Bonnie Voland is president of B. Voland International, an international publicity, marketing, sales, and co-production consulting company. Most recently, she represented Poland's official entry for the 2005 Best Foreign Film Oscar, The Welts.

The eighth Bermuda International Film Festival runs from March 18-24.