Isabelle Huppert has been named as jury president for the main competition of the 81st edition of the Venice International Film Festival, running from 28 August to 7 September 2024.
The decision was made by the Board of Directors of parent body the Biennale di Venezia, who confirmed the recommendation of Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera.
“There is a long and beautiful history between the Festival and I. Becoming a privileged spectator is an honor. More than ever, cinema is a promise. The promise to escape, to disrupt, to surprise, to take a good look at the world, united in the differences of our tastes and ideas,” said Huppert on acknowledging the honor.
Huppert has a long relationship with the Venice Film Festival. She has won its Coppa Volpi for best actress twice with Story of Women (1988) and La Cérémonie (1995). In 2005, she was honoured with a Special Golden Lion for the Overall Work for Gabrielle by Patrice Chéreau.
Other highlights of Huppert’s more than 150-credit filmography include Elle by Paul Verhoeven, for which she garnered an Oscar nomination and also won a Golden Globe and an Independent Spirit Award. In 2022 she was feted with the Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
“Isabelle Huppert is an immense actress, demanding, curious and of great generosity. The muse of numerous great filmmakers, she has never shirked the invitation of young or not-so-famous directors who have seen in her the ideal interpreter of their stories,” said Barbera.
“Her enormous willingness to constantly put herself on the line, a sign of her uncommon intelligence, together with her ability to look at cinema beyond geographic and mental boundaries, make her an ideal President of the Jury in a festival open to the entire world such as the Venice Film Festival. We are very grateful to her for accepting the position, aware of the many commitments in film and theater that she will face in the coming months.”
The Venice jury metes out Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Award for Best Screenplay, Special Jury Prize and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
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