Venice Film Festival Head

Maggie Gyllenhaal will lead the main competition jury at the 83rd Venice Film Festival in September 2026. (labiennale.org) La Biennale di Venezia said Gyllenhaal will serve as president of the International Jury for the Competition section, the panel that awards the Golden Lion for best film and the festival’s other top prizes. The festival will run on the Lido from September 2 to September 12, 2026. (labiennale.org, labiennale.org) The appointment puts an American actor-director at the center of one of the film calendar’s most closely watched launchpads for awards season. Venice’s official site says the 2026 edition will again be directed by Alberto Barbera and is recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations. (labiennale.org) Gyllenhaal arrives with recent directing credentials as well as acting fame. La Biennale’s announcement highlighted “The Lost Daughter,” which she wrote and directed, alongside acting credits including “Crazy Heart,” while trade reports noted her upcoming film “The Bride!” in describing the choice. (labiennale.org, deadline.com) Venice has leaned on prominent filmmakers and actors to chair its jury in recent years. Deadline reported that Gyllenhaal follows Alexander Payne in 2025 and Isabelle Huppert in 2024, while Variety said she is the third woman to head the Lido jury in the past five years, after Huppert, Julianne Moore and Cate Blanchett. (deadline.com, variety.com) The setting is also changing around the festival. Venice’s official access-fee portal says the city has set 2026 entry-fee dates for visitors, part of a broader effort to manage tourist flows in the lagoon city. (cda.veneziaunica.it) Reporting on this year’s tourism rules says Venice expanded the access-fee calendar to 60 days, mostly between April and July, with charges aimed at day-trippers on peak dates. That means the city will host its biggest film event in September after another year of tighter crowd-management measures in the historic center. (intrieste.com, cda.veneziaunica.it) More festival details are still to come. Trade coverage said the rest of the jury will be announced in the coming weeks, and the 2026 official selection is scheduled to be unveiled on July 23. (yahoo.com, deadline.com)