Maggie Gyllenhaal, leading the Golden Lion competition jury, says she and her fellow jurors will prioritize political urgency as the festival’s most charged edition in years gets underway.
Maggie Gyllenhaal stepped in front of the world’s press on the Lido Wednesday with a clear message: this is not a year for spectacle over substance. The filmmaker — who broke out as a director with her acclaimed 2021 debut The Lost Daughter — is leading the Golden Lion competition jury at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, alongside jury members Kaouther Ben Hania and Daniel Blumberg, among others.
At the jury press conference preceding the festival’s opening-night screening of Danny Boyle’s Ink, Gyllenhaal indicated that the politically charged nature of the lineup — which tackles right-wing media ownership, the crackdown on immigration, the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, and the rise of authoritarian power — would inform the jury’s deliberations. She noted the weight of the moment and the responsibility the jury bears in amplifying voices that reflect the world’s current upheavals.
The festival’s own artistic director Alberto Barbera has described the 2026 lineup as the most politically engaged in the event’s 83rd-year history. The competition includes Florian Zeller’s Bunker, starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem; Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine; Casey Affleck’s Company; Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love; and Andrea Pallaoro’s The Echo Chamber, with Alicia Vikander and Susan Sarandon.
Gyllenhaal is also presenting a short film of her own — Flesh Impact — out of competition, featuring Ellen Burstyn, Dakota Johnson, and Stellan Skarsgård.
George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn will both receive honorary Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement during the festival’s run. Clooney’s honor was presented Wednesday evening at the opening ceremony, with Laura Dern leading the tribute, joined by Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, and Steven Soderbergh in video messages.
Luca Guadagnino will separately receive the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award on September 8, ahead of the out-of-competition screening of his seven-hour documentary Joie de Vivre, a deep dive into the life and work of Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci. The festival runs through September 12 and closes with Giovanni Veronesi’s God Laughs.
