Maggie Gyllenhaal Jury President

Maggie Gyllenhaal will preside over the main competition jury at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, organizers said Thursday. (labiennale.org) La Biennale di Venezia said Gyllenhaal will lead the International Jury at the festival’s 83rd edition, which runs from September 2 to September 12, 2026. The jury awards the Golden Lion for best film and the festival’s other official prizes in competition. (labiennale.org) The board of La Biennale approved the appointment on the recommendation of festival director Alberto Barbera. In the announcement, Gyllenhaal said Venice has backed “truthful, singular voices,” while Barbera said her work combines acting, writing and directing with “rare coherence.” (labiennale.org) The job puts Gyllenhaal in one of the most watched seats of the fall awards season. Venice has recently opened with or premiered films that went on to major Academy Awards runs, including “The Shape of Water,” “Nomadland,” “Poor Things” and “The Brutalist.” (variety.com) Her selection also extends Venice’s recent run of high-profile jury presidents. Alexander Payne led the jury in 2025, Isabelle Huppert in 2024 and Damien Chazelle in 2023, according to festival coverage and official records. (deadline.com) Gyllenhaal has a recent history with the Lido. Her directorial debut, “The Lost Daughter,” premiered at Venice in 2021 and won the festival’s screenplay prize for her adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel. (variety.com) Since then, Gyllenhaal has moved further into directing. La Biennale’s announcement identified her with credits including “The Lost Daughter,” “The Bride!” and “Crazy Heart,” underscoring the mix of filmmaker and actor experience she brings to the jury room. (labiennale.org) The Venice appointment also lands in a year when the city’s broader Biennale calendar is already active. The 61st International Art Exhibition, “In Minor Keys,” is scheduled to run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, overlapping with the September film festival inside the same Biennale institution. (labiennale.org) The rest of the 2026 jury has not yet been announced. That leaves Gyllenhaal as the first major public face of a festival that will again help set the tone for the fall movie race in September. (thehollywoodreporter.com)