French actress Isabelle Huppert (Elle, The Piano Teacher, La Cérémonie) will be the president of the International Jury of the Competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival (August 28 – September 7, 2024), which will assign the Golden Lion for Best Film, as well as other official awards.
The decision was made by the Board of Directors of the Biennale di Venezia, who confirmed the recommendation of the Director of the Venice Film Festival, Alberto Barbera.
In accepting the proposal, Isabelle Huppert said: “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.”
Alberto Barbera commented: “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. 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.
Prizes to be awarded
On the final night (September 7, 2024) of the upcoming 81st Venice Film Festival, the International Jury of Venezia 81, chaired by Isabelle Huppert and composed of no more then nine international celebrities in the spheres of film and culture from different countries, will assign the following official prizes among the feature-length films in the Competition:
Golden Lion for Best Film
Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize
Silver Lion – Award for Best Director
Coppa Volpi for Best Actor
Coppa Volpi for Best Actress
Award for Best Screenplay
Special Jury Prize
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress
