La Biennale di Venezia has named the international juries for the Horizons section and the Luigi De Laurentiis Venice award for a debut film at the 83rd Venice Film Festival.
French director, actor and screenwriter Valérie Donzelli will chair the Horizons jury. 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,” for which she shared the César Award for best adaptation with Audrey Diwan in 2024. Her most recent feature, “At Work,” won the best screenplay award at Venice.
Becker serves as president of the Criterion Collection and Janus Films, the latter marking its 70th anniversary this year as the first theatrical distributor to bring international art-house cinema to U.S. audiences. He launched the Criterion Channel streaming service in 2019.
Lo’s debut documentary, “Stray,” won best international feature at Hot Docs, while her follow-up, “Mistress Dispeller,” premiered at Venice in 2024 and was Oscar-shortlisted. Pablos’ “On the Road” won the Horizons award for best film and the Queer Lion at Venice, while Ronchi has appeared in multiple Venice competition and Horizons titles, including “Familia,” which won the Pasinetti special prize.
The Horizons jury will hand out seven prizes: the Horizons Award for best film, best director, the special Horizons jury prize, and best actress, actor, screenplay and short film. No joint awards will be permitted.
Italian screenwriter and director Carolina Cavalli will chair the jury for the Luigi De Laurentiis Venice Award for a debut film – Lion of the Future. She will be joined by British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. and American producer Ted Hope.
Cavalli’s second feature as director, “The Kidnapping of Arabella,” premiered in Horizons at Venice, where Benedetta Porcaroli won the best actress Award. Davies Jr.’s debut feature, “My Father’s Shadow,” earned a special mention for the Caméra d’Or at Cannes in 2025 and won the 2026 BAFTA for outstanding debut. Hope, a producer on more than 70 films, launched Amazon Studios’ feature film division, which went on to earn 19 Oscar nominations and five wins.
The Luigi De Laurentiis jury will select its winner from debut feature-length films across the festival’s official selection and independent and parallel sidebars. The award carries a cash prize of $100,000, donated by Filmauro, to be split equally between the director and producer.
All awards will be unveiled during the festival’s closing ceremony on Sept. 12, at the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema at the Venice Lido. The festival is set to run Sept. 2-12 under the direction of Alberto Barbera.
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