The Venice Film Festival has quietly canceled its main jury press conference for this year's edition, a move that breaks decades of tradition at the world's oldest major film festival.
According to Deadline, which confirmed the decision with festival organizers, the 83rd Venice Film Festival will run September 2 through 12, 2026. The jury presser, typically one of the most heavily covered events of the festival, will not take place this year. Deadline reported the story exclusively.
The festival has not issued a public statement about the cancellation. Festival directors told Deadline the decision resulted from a scheduling conflict, not political pressure, though they declined to provide further detail.
A jury led by Maggie Gyllenhaal
This year's international jury is led by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The full lineup was announced earlier this year:
- Kaouther Ben Hania, Tunisian director
- Daniel Blumberg, English composer
- Francesco Casetti, Italian professor
- Xavier Giannoli, French director
- Shahrbanoo Sadat, Afghan director
- Johnnie To, Hong Kong director
Ben Hania brings particular sensitivity to the region's current conflicts. Last year at Venice, she screened "The Voice Of Hind Rajab," a documentary about the tragic killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl. Her presence on this year's jury has made her a figure of interest for anyone watching how the festival handles politically charged content.
The festival's lineup already includes Israeli-Gaza documentary "NAZA" and Russian film "DAU." This week, Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, filmmaker Matteo Garrone, and director Isabel Coixet signed an open letter urging the Venice Biennale and film festival to take concrete action in support of Palestine.
Why It Matters
The cancellation comes against a backdrop of increasingly confrontational jury press conferences across the major festival circuit. This year's Berlin Film Festival proved particularly volatile, with jury president Wim Wenders drawing criticism after telling filmmakers to stay out of politics when questioned about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Press at Cannes this year brought censorship concerns to the forefront during jury sessions.
Venice has long prided itself as a space for artistic discourse rather than political debate. The festival's parent organization, La Biennale di Venezia, has historically kept politics at arm's length from its programming decisions.
This year's edition will be one of the most politically complicated in recent memory, with festival organizers navigating between artistic freedom and mounting pressure from artists and activists alike.
The cancellation of the jury press conference may be a practical solution to an otherwise intractable problem. Without a formal press conference, there is no single event for journalists to force the jury into political territory. The films themselves, and the festival's broader cultural programming, will hopefully speak for themselves.
For readers tracking the evolution of entertainment and media, this moment at Venice reflects broader tensions between art and politics that extend well beyond any single festival. Industry observers should watch how the decision plays out and whether other major festivals follow suit. Related coverage of major industry stories includes our reporting on Nolan's 'Odyssey' becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film ever and Black Mirror Season 8 begins filming.