Annette Bening has been named as the President of the jury at the Venice Film Festival.
Bening’s appointment makes her the first woman to hold the position since 2006 and has ended an 11-year span of male presidents.
Bening is perhaps best know for her role in American Beauty, for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress.
Bening began her acting career on stage with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival Company. She went on to be nominated for the 1987 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her Broadway debut in Coastal Disturbances.
She has also starred in films such as Being Julia, Open Range, Mars Attacks! And Bugsy.
Venice artistic director, Alberto Barbera said, “It was time to break with a long list of male presidents and invite a brilliant talented and inspiring woman to chair our International competition jury.”
“I am extremely happy that Annette Bening has accepted this role, which she will carry out by virtue of her stature, her intellect and the talents she has manifested over the course of her career, in Hollywood, Europe and on the stage.”
Speaking of her appointment, Bening said, “I’m honoured to be asked to serve as the president of the jury for this year’s Venice Film Festival.”
“I look forward to seeing the movies and working with my fellow jury members to celebrate the best of this year’s cinema from all over the world.”
The last time a woman headed the jury was in 2006, when French actress Catherine Deneuve was at the helm. However, Bening is still only the sixth female president of the world’s oldest film festival.
