It’s the kind of job security a Berlin Film Festival director can only dream of.
Alberto Barbera, the long-running director of the Venice Film Festival, has extended his contract for another two years. Barbera, whose mandate was due to expire after this year’s 83rd edition, will stay in the role for 2027 and 2028.
The Venice Festival board of directors, chaired by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, approved the re-appointment.
Barbera has been artistic director in Venice since 2012 and previously held the post from 1998 to 2001. He’s widely credited with boosting the festival’s standing internationally and positioning it as a can’t-miss event for awards season. The long list of Venice premieres that went on to Oscar glory under Barbera’s reign includes Gravity (2013), Spotlight (2015), La La Land (2016), The Favourite (2018), and Joker (2019).
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Last year’s edition was a starry affair, featuring Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein with Jacob Elordi, Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine starring Dwayne Johnson, Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt with Julia Roberts, and Emma-stone starrer Bugonia. Both Bugonia and Frankenstein are best picture contenders at this year’s Oscars. Kaouther Ben Hania’s Venice Silver Lion winner The Voice of Hind Rajab is nominated in the best international feature category, and The Smashing Machine has a single Oscar nomination, in the makeup and hairstyling category.
Announcing Barbera’s contract renewal, the Venice festival said the extension was agreed “in consideration of the results he has achieved in the recognized quality of the selections, in discovering and launching new talents on the international stage, in spreading and advancing the culture of cinema, and in expanding audiences.”
