Director John Woo to head Shanghai film festival jury

Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo will head the jury at next month's Shanghai International Film Festival, one of the largest in Asia, organisers said Wednesday.

The nine-day festival, which runs from June 12 to June 20, will feature both local and international films. Details on those selected to compete for the Golden Goblet were not yet available.

Woo, 54, was born in southern China and raised in Hong Kong, where he made his name as a director before moving to work in Hollywood and directing a number of action hits including "Mission: Impossible II" and "Face/Off."

Woo's last two Chinese projects, "Red Cliff" and "Red Cliff 2", smashed mainland box office records by taking in more than 600 million yuan (90 million dollars).

The Shanghai festival will feature a retrospective of films by US director Woody Allen, organisers said.

Last year's Shanghai jury was headed by Danny Boyle, the Oscar-winning director of "Slumdog Millionaire". Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, best known for "In the Mood for Love" starring Maggie Cheung, presided in 2008.