Venice Film Festival Changes Course & Reinstates Jury Press Conference
The festival reversed its cancellation after Deadline’s report drew backlash, restoring the opening event for a jury led by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
- The Venice Film Festival will hold its traditional opening jury press conference on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, reversing an earlier decision to cancel the event citing scheduling conflicts.
- Deadline's reporting on the conference's unusual omission from the festival schedule triggered significant backlash, prompting organizers to reverse course after the outlet flagged the story ahead of publication.
- Jury head Maggie Gyllenhaal leads a diverse international panel including Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, English composer Daniel Blumberg, Italian professor Francesco Casetti, French director Xavier Giannoli, Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat, and Hong Kong director Johnnie To.
- Last year, Venice jury head Alexander Payne admitted he was 'unprepared' to answer questions about Gaza, while Berlin Film Festival jury president Wim Wenders faced extreme backlash in February after arguing filmmakers 'have to stay out of politics.'
- Beyond political tensions, the festival will likely address the dearth of female directors, the Iran-U.S. conflict, and the Russian-Ukraine War, with the reinstatement marking a victory for transparency and press access.
13 Articles
13 Articles
The film festival in Venice is now starting with a press conference by the jury. The event had previously been cancelled – which had led to speculation: Was there fear of questions about the Gaza war behind the rejection?
Venice wanted to cancel the jury press conference – and caused irritation. Now the festival has changed course.
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First cancelled, now scheduled: According to a media report, the Venice Film Festival has now scheduled a jury press conference for the opening. Previously, the rejection had caused speculation.
Venice Film Festival Changes Course & Reinstates Jury Press Conference
Good news. The Venice Film Festival has reinstated its jury press conference, overturning an unusual move to scrap the traditional opening event this year. The festival responded to Deadline’s inquiry on Sunday by confirming that the press conference was now on. A day earlier, the A-list festival, which kicks off on Wednesday, had told Deadline that the press conference was off due to a scheduling conflict. “The opening conference is not b…
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