Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Løve and Martin McDonagh join the jury of the Venice Film Festival

The Venice Film Festival 2023 has unveiled the jury of the Main Competition.

Under the presidency of Damien Chazelle, the judging panel will include Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Løve, Laura Poitras, Martin McDonagh, Saleh Bakri, Gabriele Mainetti, Santiago Miter and Shu Qi. The 80th annual festival will run from August 30 to September 9.

The Jury of the Main Competition will award the Golden Lion for Best Film, the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, the Silver Lion for Best Director, the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, the Special Jury Prize, the Best Screenplay Award and “Marcello Mastroianni” for the best new young actor or actress.

Last year’s judging panel was overseen by Julianne Moore, who awarded the Golden Lion to jury member Poitras’ 2023 documentary ‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’.

Silver Lion winner Luca Guadagnino returns to the 2023 festival with the opening night film ‘Challengers’ starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist as three tennis players caught up in a love game. The film will be screened out of competition on Wednesday 30 August in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema to kick off the festival.

2023 Jury President Chazelle has opened Venice twice, with 2016’s “La La Land” and 2018’s “First Man.” Both films were celebrated at the Academy Awards.

This year’s judging panel is made up of Palestinian director Bakri, known for “Wajib”. Bakri appeared in Mounia Akl’s ‘Costa Brava, Lebanon’ which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2021.

Academy Award-winning Best Director Campion made history as the first woman to receive the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for “The Piano” in 1993. Campion won the Silver Lion at Venice for Best Director for “The Power of the Dog” in 2021 before taking home the Oscar.

The Italian director Mainetti directs “Freaks Out”, selected in competition at the Venice Film Festival in 2021 and winner of 6 David di Donatello.

Argentine director Miter directed “Argentina, 1985”, which premiered at the Lido last year. The film was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

Taiwanese actress Qi is best known for roles in both arthouse films and box office hits, including Stephen Chow’s ‘Journey to the West: Conquering Demons’ (2013), Stephen Chow’s ‘Gone With Fire’ (2014) Jiang Wen and “Mojin: The Lost Legend” (2015) by Wuershan.

“Banshees of Inisherin” director McDonagh travels frequently to Venice, winning last year for Best Screenplay for his film.