In elite company of James Franco, Ava DuVernay, Xavier Dolan
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 15, 2016)

After conquering TV, films and award show red carpets in Hollywood, Priyanka Chopra is all set to tread a new territory. The 33-year-old actress is part of a seven-member jury of the Shorts Festival section at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Her co-judges include 127 Hours actor James Franco, Beasts of the Southern Wild cinematographer Ben Richardson, Selma director Ava DuVernay, who was also on the judges' panel at Mumbai's 17th MAMI film festival's competition section, Canadian writer-director Xavier Dolan, who, at 25, won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his 2014 drama, Mommy, music video director and photographer, Nabil Elderkin and stop-motion animation artist Rachel Ryle.

A newly added competition section for digital shorts, Shorts Festival invites participants from around the world to submit 60-second films through their Instagram accounts, following which the jury will handpick entries to be screened on each day of the 10-day Toronto International Film Festival, which kicks off on September 8. Meanwhile, they are slated to select a winner for the Judge's Choice Award and Fan Favourite Award categories, to be announced on August 18.

PeeCee who has made appearances at TIFF before - first for Ashutosh Gowariker's What's Your Raashee? which premiered in 2009 and for Mary Kom in 2015 - shot for the first season of her American TV show, Quantico, Montreal, and has quite the fan following in Canada.

In July, the 33-year-old actress graced the cover of five international magazines in a month, cementing her position as an upcoming international icon. "It's all Quantico! The show has done beyond what I ever thought it would do. Quantico and Blindspot are the only two shows that began last year and have been renewed. Every other show was cancelled," PeeCee had shared with Mirror in an earlier chat before flying off to New York on July 4, adding that her show now airs in 210 territories, 56 languages and that she recently travelled to France and the UK for the premieres of the first season. "It's overwhelming.

Everything feels like an interesting cultural experience. Hindi cinema fans have received my films well, but this is something completely different. These are not the people I am used to seeing as fans!"

Now, on to newer paths?