Venice 83, the Mostra opens with Danny Boyle and Maggie Gyllenhaal as jury president

The selection for the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, scheduled from September 2 to 12, has been unveiled. The jury of the main section will be presided over by Maggie Gyllenhaal, joined by Kaouther Ben Hania, Johnnie To, Xavier Giannoli, Shahrbanoo Sadat, Daniel Blumberg and Francesco Casetti.

The festival will open with Danny Boyle’s “Ink”, starring Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy, which will also be presented in competition. The choice of an opening film directed by a British filmmaker and simultaneously in competition marks continuity with the Mostra’s tradition of entrusting the opening night to works vying for the top prize.

Among the career achievement awards announced for this year’s edition are George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn, who will receive a prize for the entirety of their artistic work.

This year’s selection is described as notably more limited, compared to previous editions, in the presence of productions made by major film studios or streaming platforms. Among the titles in competition is “Wild Horse Nine”, a story set at the CIA directed by British-Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh, set shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup.

The composition of the jury, which brings together a scholar of classical theatre and presenter such as Gyllenhaal with figures of varied geographic and artistic backgrounds — from Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat to composer Daniel Blumberg — reflects the Mostra’s ambition to represent widely different cinematic sensibilities. The presence of an English-language opening film with an international cast, alongside the reduced presence of studio and streaming platform productions, points to an editorial direction for the festival oriented toward independent auteur cinema, while not excluding names of commercial appeal such as those involved in the cast of “Ink”.

The two sources gathered, both specialized film outlets that covered the press conference presenting the programme, agree on the main names in the selection: the opening film, the composition of the jury and the two career achievement awards announced for Clooney and Burstyn.