Maggie Gyllenhaal assumes the “fundamentally political” nature of cinema at the opening of the Mostra 2026

The actress and director is President of the jury in Venice this year. And to launch this 83rd edition, she delivered a press conference without tongue in cheek.

Barely opened, the Venice Film Festival finds itself immersed in the… political debate.

The question did not take long to arise during the jury’s traditional press conference. While the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, but also political tensions in the United States, continue to weigh on international news, Maggie Gyllenhaal, President of the jury for this 83rd edition, fully assumes this dimension. Questioned straight away, she replied mischievously: “Okay. Let’s go on this ground then…“

The director of The Lost Daughter And The Bride don’t procrastinate: for her, films are “fundamentally, inevitably political”.

She believes that all subjects and all filmmakers should be able to be heard, including when they portray particularly disturbing characters.

“I think we can challenge ourselves to listen to stories about the most corrupt, the most evil people, because it opens up the possibility of finding empathy for these people. I am open here. I’m curious here.”

The filmmaker was also questioned about another sensitive subject: the virtual absence of female directors in the competition for the Golden Lion. Only one of the films in competition this year is exclusively directed by a woman: Woman Unknownby Danish-Egyptian May El-Toukhy.

With irony, Maggie Gyllenhaal said:

“I guess it’s finally become clear that men make better films than women…“

The artistic director of the Mostra, Alberto Barbera, then recalled that a documentary co-directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the authors of No Other Landhad been added at the last minute to the competition. But Gyllenhaal then delivered a much more serious answer:

“There is a systemic problem. It is more difficult for women to get their films financed. Is it possible that women, having a different experience of being in the world, want to make films that are not always considered high art? Who decides what is good? Who decides what is valuable?“

This speech comes as the Mostra opens in a particularly tense context. The festival had even considered canceling its jury press conference, officially for scheduling reasons, before backing down in the face of criticism. At major international festivals, the pressure for artists to take a stand on Gaza, Ukraine, the United States or the rise of the far right continues to increase. In Venice, the Palestinian question will be very present. An open letter from the Venice4Palestine collective, signed among others by Annie Ernaux, Roger Waters, Isabel Coixet and Matteo Garrone, asks the festival for concrete actions in support of Palestine and in particular the presence of the Palestinian flag throughout the event.

A subject that particularly resonates with Kaouther Ben Hania, member of the jury this year, whose film The Voice of Hind Rajab won the Silver Lion last year after a 22-minute standing ovation.