Oscar-nominated actor and filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal will preside over the main jury of the upcoming Venice International Film Festival, organisers have announced.
She will chair the main competition jury at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, scheduled to be held from September 2 to 12, 2026.
Gyllenhaal previously attended the festival in 2021 with her directorial debut The Lost Daughter, adapted from the Elena Ferrante novel and starring Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson and Peter Sarsgaard. The film won the festival’s best screenplay award.
She most recently directed The Bride!, a feminist reinterpretation of the Frankenstein myth, featuring Christian Bale, Penélope Cruz, Sarsgaard, Annette Bening and Jake Gyllenhaal, which has recently been released in the United States.
Gyllenhaal becomes one of several women to have led the Venice jury in recent years, following Isabelle Huppert (2024), Julianne Moore (2022) and Cate Blanchett (2020).
“I am thrilled to accept the invitation to lead this year’s Venice Film Festival jury,” Gyllenhaal said in a statement. “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.”
Festival director Alberto Barbera praised Gyllenhaal’s artistic trajectory, describing it as one marked by intelligence and courage. He highlighted her ability to portray complex characters and her evolution into a filmmaker with The Lost Daughter, noting that her latest work further reinforces her position as an original voice in cinema.
Gyllenhaal first gained widespread recognition with Secretary (2002), directed by Steven Shainberg and co-starring James Spader, earning a National Board of Review award along with Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award nominations. She later starred in Sherrybaby (2006), directed by Laurie Collyer, which brought her another Golden Globe nomination.
In 2009, she received an Academy Award nomination for her performance opposite Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart. Her other notable film credits include Donnie Darko, Mona Lisa Smile, Stranger Than Fiction, The Dark Knight, Nanny McPhee Returns, Frank and The Kindergarten Teacher.
This year’s Venice Film Festival’s official lineup is set to be announced on July 23.
