Kristen Stewart named on the Cannes Film Festival Jury

Kristen Stewart has been named as a member of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival Jury.The 28-year-old actress - who is, perhaps, best known for her starring role in the Twilight franchise - is among a star-studded list of names who are to serve as jurors at the annual film festival in the south of France.

Other members of the panel include Ava DuVernay, Denis Villeneuve, Chang Chen, Robert Guediguian, Khadja Nin, Lea Seydoux and Andrey Zvyagintsev, all of whom have just been announced by the festival organisers.

Seven nationalities and five continents are represented on the panel, which is comprised of more women than men for only the third time in history.The announcement comes shortly after it was suggested that controversial director Lars von Trier is set to return to the Cannes Film Festival next month.

The 61-year-old filmmaker has been barred from the annual event since 2011, after making controversial comments about Adolf Hitler, but festival general delegate Thierry Fremaux revealed von Trier is now poised to return.Speaking on French radio about von Trier's possible inclusion in this year's lineup, Fremaux said: "There will maybe be an announcement ..."

The director hasn't been invited to Cannes since 2011, when his movie 'Melancholia' screened in the festival's main competition.

Asked about his German roots and his interest in the Nazi aesthetic at a press conference, von Trier delivered a controversial reply. He explained at the time: "I thought I was a Jew for a long time, and I was very happy ... But it turned out that I was not a Jew ...

"And then I found out that I was really a Nazi, because my family was German. Which also gave me some pleasure. What can I say?"

-Agencies