He was born in Germany, his mother is French, his father is Irish American, he is the godfather of the child of a legendary Danish director, his former wife is ex-Yugoslavian: Jean-Marc Barr is a true border crosser, which also shows in his art. The French and English-speaking actor, who played with natural confidence in films of all nationalities, has not lost the impish smile we all know from the 1988 The Big Blue that made him world-famous and the idol of a generation. Luc Besson’s movie, which starred Jean Reno and Rosanna Arquette alongside Barr, was the most successful film of the 1980s in his country – and one of the most memorable French films ever made. He could have been a Hollywood star, but he stayed in Europe. He first starred in a Lars Von Trier film in 1991, and Europa also marked the beginning of a long friendship. They went on making films together, such as the Cannes Grand Prix-winning Breaking the Waves, the Palme d’Orwinning Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, The Boss of It All and Nymph()maniac. Lovers, his directorial debut, became the first non-Danish film to bear the Dogma 95 stamp. Anyone who has ever seen this beautiful love story – starring Elodie Bouchez and Sergej Trifunović – will never forget the film. After directing three films and playing about 70 roles, Jean-Marc Barr, this year’s President of the Jury of the Miskolc International Film Festival, remains very active not only as an actor and director, but also as a photographer and a committed environmentalist. Jean-Marc Barr receives the Ambassador of European Cinema Award on 2 September, before the screening of The Big Blue.