Alberto Barbera to Remain Venice Artistic Director Through 2028

Alberto Barbera is about to stay creative director of the Venice Film Festival by way of 2028 and probably longer.

On Tuesday, the board of administrators of the fest’s dad or mum group, the Venice Biennale — chaired by new president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco — announced that they’ve permitted Barbera’s appointment “for the years 2027 and 2028.”

The Biennale is mainly extending Barbera’s current mandate, which was set to expire after the upcoming 2026 version, for 2 more years. This doesn’t rule out the risk that Barbera might subsequently get another full-fledged mandate and keep on board even longer.

Barbera, who’s the competition’s longest serving creative director, has been at the Lido’s helm consecutively since the 2012 version and beforehand held the same place between 1998 and 2001.

Under Barbera’s watch, Venice has become the most systematically efficient springboard for awards hopefuls on the worldwide competition circuit. The record of pics from the fall fest that have reached the awards circle lately embody current contenders “Frankenstein” and “Bugonia” in addition to “Gravity,” “Birdman,” “Spotlight,” “La La Land,” “The Shape of Water,” “Roma,” “Joker,” “Nomadland” and “The Power of the Dog,” to title a few.

The fest is also a major platform for rising filmmakers from all over the world and actively helps develop and produce micro-budget feature-length movies by way of it’s distinctive Biennale College workshop.
Barbera’s profession as a fest boss began in 1989 when, having first labored as a movie critic, he turned creative director of the Torino Film Festival, devoted to younger administrators, and scoured the planet searching for recent cinematic fare.

In 2022, Barbera was awarded a particular tribute by the Gotham Awards in New York, while in 2021 Variety awarded him its International Achievement in Film Award. Since 2020, Barbera has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2000, Barbera was honored with the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, the cultural acknowledgment of the French Republic.

The upcoming 83rd version of Venice will run Sept. 2-12.