Actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alia Shawkat and Adjoa Andoh are among the jurors on the Venice Film Festival’s second annual impact jury.
Renamed as the Venice Biennale Impact Award this year and awarded independently of the festival, it will again honour a film in the official selection that has the “greatest potential” to affect wider societal changes.
It was founded by London and Brussels-based Think-Film Impact Production alongside Venice organisers, with Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano picking up the inaugural award in 2023.
Ejiofor will next star in the forthcoming social justice drama Rob Peace, while Shawkat appears in Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice. Andoh stars in the Netflix series Bridgerton.
Other members serving on the jury include Oscar-winning 20 Days In Mariupol director Mstyslav Chernov and Belle screenwriter Misan Sagay. The jury will be present at the festival for a Venice Production Bridge panel and red carpet on Sept. 4.
Think-Film Impact Production is best known for impact work on films including Oscar winner Navalny, National Geographic’s deforestation doc The Territory and Florian Zeller’s The Son.
The impact field has existed for around a decade and is often employed in the documentary sector, along with some scripted dramas and films with social or political messages.
Danielle Turkov Wilson, founder and CEO of Think-Film, told Screen: “Every major film event this year has been marked by filmmakers using their art and platforms to convey socio-political messages. This Impact Award in the Venice Biennale is key to recognise films which give back to society and bring issues that get left unnoticed to the surface.”
The Venice Biennale Impact Award is co-sponsored by Impact Europe, Europe’s leading investing for impact network.
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