Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller to head up Cannes 2016 jury

He's the first Australian filmmaker to assume the position

The director George Miller has wanted to see ‘Mad Max’ in black and chrome for ages (Getty (Getty)

Oh, what a lovely year it's been for Australian filmmaker George Miller.

First up, his long-awaited Mad Max: Fury Road surged its way out of production hell and into everybody's 'best films of 2015' list; a host of plaudits followed, not to mention seven Oscar nominations - and now he's just been announced as the head of this year's jury at Cannes Film Festival.

Miller is officially the first Australian to assume the position.

Ever the enthusiast, Miller - whose list of credits also include Babe, Lorenzo's Oil and Happy Feet - said: "What an unmitigated delight. To be there in the middle of this storied festival at the unveiling of cinematic treasures from all over the planet.

"I'll be there with bells on."

Speaking about their decision to appoint Miller, organisers commented, "Throughout his career, George Miller has constantly experimented with a variety of genres, brilliantly reconciling mass audience expectations and the highest artistic standards."

Last year's jurors were the Coen Brothers who awarded Jacques Audiard film Dheepan the Palme d'Or.

Miller recently claimed that comments he made regarding another Mad Max film were misquoted, stating he would gladly return to the franchise in the near future.

The 69th Cannes Film Festival will take place in France from 11-22 May with the full line-up set to be announced in April.