Kaouther Ben Hania and Daniel Blumberg have joined the jury for the 83rd Venice film festival. They will serve alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal, who was announced as jury president in April.
Ben Hania, the Tunisian director of “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which won the Silver Lion — Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Venice festival and was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Oscars, and Blumberg, the English composer and artist who won an Oscar for his score for “The Brutalist,” will sit on the jury that also includes: French writer-director Xavier Giannoli (whose film “L’Interview” won the Palme d’Or in Cannes in 1998); Hong Kong director-producer Johnnie To (who has debuted four films in Venice and served on the jury in 2008); Afghan writer-director Shahrbanoo Sadat and Italian professor Francesco Casetti.
The 83rd Venice film festival jury will evaluate all films in competition and determine the winners of the Golden Lion for Best Film; the Silver Lion — Grand Jury Prize; the Silver Lion for Best Director; Volpi Cups for Best Actress and Actor; the Special Jury Prize Award for Best Screenplay; and the “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
“Venice has always supported truthful, singular voices and I am honored to play a part in continuing that brave and necessary tradition,” Gyllenhaal said in April. “I will not be standing in judgement, but in curiosity, admiration and excitement.”
Jury selection was made by the Board of Directors of La Biennale on the recommendation of Alberto Barbera, the festival’s artistic director. As he noted in April, “Having [Maggie Gyllenhaal] 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.”
The 83rd Venice festival will take place September 2-12.
