Venice Film Festival unveils 2026 jury with Maggie Gyllenhaal as president

Published on

23/06/2026 - 10:05 GMT+2

Following the announcement in April that US director, actress, screenwriter and producer Maggie Gyllenhaal will be the president of the international jury of the competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, the main roster of the jury has been unveiled.

The jury will include Hong Kong director Johnnie To, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat, French director and screenwriter Xavier Giannoli, British composer Daniel Blumberg (who recently composed the score for the Oscar winning The Brutalist), and Francesco Casetti, Sterling Professor of Humanities and Film Studies at Yale.

It may not be one of Venice’s starriest line-ups, but it’s certainly an eclectic one.

There are some familiar Venice faces in the jury. Four of To’s films have premiered on the Lido: Throw Down (2004); Exiled (2006); Mad Detective (2007); and Life Without Principle (2011). Giannoli has competed for Venice’s Golden Lion three times over the last decade, with Superstar (2012), Marguerite (2015) and Lost Illusions (2021). As for Ben Hania, she was in Venice last year with The Voice of Hind Rajab, which premiered to more than 20 minutes of thunderous applause and went on to win the Silver Lion.

The Voice of Hind Rajab made Euronews Culture’s ranking of the Best Movies of 2025. In our review, we wrote: “Enraging and urgent both in substance and form, The Voice of Hind Rajab won this year’s Silver Lion in Venice, and justly so. Despite some minor bum notes in the way it handles some emotional beats, it's a docudrama that not only shows the consequences of a genocidal campaign but stands as a devastating elegy to an innocent girl who was robbed of her right to live.”

Gyllenhaal and her fellow jurors will be responsible for awarding the Golden Lion for Best Film, the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, the Silver Lion for Best Director, the Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, the Special Jury Prize, Best Screenplay, and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress.

Gyllenhaal became the third woman to head the Lido jury in the past five years, following Isabelle Huppert in 2024, Julianne Moore in 2022 and Cate Blanchett in 2020.

In a statement following the announcement of her presidency, she said: “Venice has always supported truthful, singular voices, and I am honored to play a part in continuing that brave and necessary tradition. I will not be standing in judgement, but in curiosity, admiration and excitement.”

The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world. It takes place every year and forms part of the Venice Biennale. The 83rd edition of Venice will run from 2–12 September. The festival’s line-up will be announced on 23 July.