Swill Maggie Gyllenhaal to lead the international jury of the 83rd competition Venice International Film Festival. The actress, director of The dark daughter and American screenwriter will preside over the members of the jury called to assign the Golden Lion and other official awards of the festival (scheduled from 2 to 12 September 2026). “I will not be there to judge, but to be guided by curiosity, admiration and passion,” said Gyllenhaal.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, president of the jury of the 2026 Venice Film Festival
The American actress, director and screenwriter Maggie Gyllenhaal will chair the jury of the Venice International Film Festival 2026. The appointment was approved by the Board of Directors of the Biennale, upon proposal of the artistic director of the Exhibition Alberto Barbera.
In accepting the proposal, Maggie Gyllenhaal said: «I am thrilled to accept the invitation to chair the jury of this year’s Venice Film Festival. Venice has always supported authentic and singular voices, and I am honored to help carry on this courageous and necessary tradition. I won’t be there to judge, but to let myself be guided by curiosityby admiration and passion.”
Maggie Gyllenhaal will be the next President of the jury at Venice 2026. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s visceral and intellectual gaze
Alberto Barbera said: «Maggie Gyllenhaal embodies an artistic path of rare coherencebuilt over time with intelligence and courage. An actress capable of giving voice to uncomfortable and multifaceted characters, she was able to reinvent herself as an author with The dark daughterawarded in Venice in 2021 for best screenplay.
His gaze on cinema, both intellectual and visceral, finds further confirmation in recent times The bride!, which consolidates his stature as an original filmmaker. Having her at the helm of our jury means being able to count on an authoritative and independent voiceanimated by that authentic passion for auteur cinema which has always been the heart of the Festival.”
Maggie Gyllenhaal at the 80th Venice Film Festival. (Getty Images)
Who is Maggie Gyllenhaal: from actress to Secretary to director of The bride!
Oscar nominee and among the most versatile performers of her generation, Maggie Gyllenhaal initially established herself as an actress thanks to intense and unconventional roles, starting from Secretaryup to films like Crazy Heart (which earned her an Oscar nomination) and The Dark Knight.
His directorial debut with The dark daughterbased on the novel by Elena Ferrante, it was received with great favor by international critics, obtaining numerous awards, including the one for the screenplay at the Venice Film Festival. In 2026 she returned behind the camera with The bride!, modern and visionary reinterpretation of the myth of Frankenstein.
In parallel with cinema, he has also worked successfully on television, winning a Golden Globe for The Honorable Woman. In 2019 she concluded her three-season run in the role of Candy, a sex worker who becomes a director, on the HBO show The Deuce – The way to pornof which she was also a producer.