US director, actress, screenwriter and producer Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter, The Bride!, Crazy Heart) will serve as the chair of the international competition jury at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, part of the Venice Biennale (2-12 September 2026), the members of which will be tasked with handing out the Golden Lion for Best Film and the other official awards. Overall, the jury will comprise a maximum of seven big names from cinema and culture, hailing from various different countries.

“I am thrilled to accept the invitation to lead this year’s Venice Film Festival jury,” stated Gyllenhaal, who has been Oscar-nominated twice (for Best Supporting Actress in Crazy Heart and for Best Adapted Screenplay with The Lost Daughter). “Venice has always supported truthful, singular voices, and I am honoured to play a part in continuing that brave and necessary tradition.  I will not be standing in judgement, but in curiosity, admiration and excitement.”

“Maggie Gyllenhaal embodies an artistic path of uncommon consistency, constructed over time with intelligence and courage,” remarked artistic director Alberto Barbera. “She is an actress who is able to portray disturbing and multifaceted characters; she also reinvented herself as an auteur with The Lost Daughter, which won the Best Screenplay Award here at Venice in 2021. Her perspective on cinema – both intellectual and visceral – has found further confirmation in the recent film The Bride! (2026), which consolidates her stature as an original filmmaker. Having her as the president of our jury means being able to rely on an authoritative and independent voice, animated by that authentic passion for arthouse cinema which has always represented the heart of the festival.”

This year, Gyllenhaal released her movie The Bride!, which she wrote, produced and directed, and which stars Oscar-winning actress Jessie Buckley. Her directorial debut was the adaptation of the novel The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante (which garnered three Oscar nominations), toplined by Olivia Colman. Gyllenhaal can also boast many noteworthy performances: from Secretary by Steven Shainberg (2002) and SherryBaby by Laurie Collyer (2006), films for which she secured Golden Globe nods, to Crazy Heart by Scott Cooper (2009), which earned her an Oscar nomination. Other memorable turns include those in Donnie Darko, Mona Lisa Smile, Stranger Than Fiction, The Dark Knight, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, Frank and The Kindergarten Teacher. Among her acting jobs for the small screen, we could highlight the miniseries The Honourable Woman, for which she won a Golden Globe, and the series The Deuce, which she also produced.