The Venice Biennale has named the international jury for the 83rd Venice Film Festival’s “Horizons” category and the Luigi de Laurentiis Venice Prize for debut films.
French director, actor, and screenwriter Valérie Donzelli will serve as Horizons’ jury president. She will be joined by American film distributor Peter Becker, Hong Kong-American director Elizabeth Lo, Mexican director and screenwriter David Pablos, and Italian actress Barbara Ronchi.
Donzelli’s credits include “Declaration of War,” which opened the 50th Critics’ Week at Cannes, and “Just the Two of Us,” which won the César Award for Best Adapted Screenplay with Audrey Dewan in 2024. Her latest film, At Work, won the Best Screenplay Award in Venice.
Mr. Becker is president of the Criterion Collection and Janus Films, the latter of which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year as the first theatrical distribution company to bring international arthouse films to American audiences. He launched the Criterion Channel streaming service in 2019.
Law’s debut documentary, Stray, won Best International Feature at Hot Docs, and its sequel, Mistress Dispeller, will premiere in Venice in 2024 and was nominated for an Oscar. Pavlos’ On the Road won the Horizons Award for Best Picture and the Venice Queer Lion Award, and Ronchi has appeared in several Venice competitions and Horizons titles, including Familia, which won the Pasinetti Special Award.
The Horizons jury will award seven awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Horizons Special Jury Award, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Short Film. Joint awards are not permitted.
Italian screenwriter and director Carolina Cavalli will head the jury for the Luigi de Laurentiis Venice Prize for her debut film The Lion of the Future. The film co-stars Nigerian-British director Akinola Davis Jr. and American producer Ted Hope.
The Kidnapping of Arabella, Cavalli’s second film, premiered at Horizons in Venice, where Benedetta Porcaroli won Best Actress. Davis Jr.’s feature debut, In the Shadow of the Father, won a special award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’Or and the 2026 BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut Feature. A producer of more than 70 films, Hope launched Amazon Studios’ feature film division and received 19 Oscar nominations and five wins.
The Luigi De Laurentiis jury will select the winner from the festival’s official selection and debut feature films from the independent and parallel sidebars. The award includes a $100,000 prize donated by Phil Mauro, which will be split 50/50 between the director and producer.
All awards will be announced at the festival’s closing ceremony on September 12th in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema on the Venice Lido. The festival will be held from September 2nd to 12th under the direction of Alberto Barbera.
