American film director Robert Minkoff has been tapped to chair the international competition jury of this year's Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), and during an interview with CGTN, he said that he is excited to take the role as the chief of the jury.

Rob Minkoff is best known for directing the Academy Award-winning animated feature "The Lion King," and this is not his first time to attend the BJIFF, and become a member of the jury.

"I served on the jury two years ago and had a wonderful time. It was such a great opportunity to come to Beijing and to see these films," said Minkoff.

Minkoff mentioned that he has gone through a very rigorous process to be selected for the jury, and he enjoys watching so many films made by different filmmakers from diverse cultures telling the story from their unique point of view.

Fifteen films are competing for the festival's top Tiantan Award. Minkoff said they would closely evaluate the nominees.

As for the standards of making a decision, Minkoff said that "every film is unique." And all 15 nominated films have already gone through the review process, and have already met the standards of excellence that the festival requires.

"It's just a matter for us to watch each film, to try to understand it, access it and reward it if it's deserving it," said Minkoff.

"Different things that can be impressive in a film,” said Minkoff while talking about the standards to decide whether a film is good or bad. “Sometimes it is the world that the film is set in, sometimes it's the character, and sometimes it's the techniques that are used, and the cinematography. Often it's the screenplay and the performers."

In recent years, the Chinese film industry has seen many co-productions with international filmmakers. Minkoff suggested other approaches in cooperation besides focusing on Chinese cultural elements.

The BJIFF 2019 is expected to close on April 20, during which the jury will announce the winners of 10 categories of the Tiantan Awards.