Barbera has helped make Venice important again for films that might win awards.
Alberto Barbera will keep leading the Venice International Film Festival until 2026.
The group in charge of the Venice festival agreed to extend Barbera’s contract for two more years and announced this decision on Friday.
The group said in a statement that Barbera has done well as festival director. They said he’s been good at finding new talent, promoting cinema culture, and getting more people interested in the festival.
The president of La Biennale, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, said he respects Barbera’s skills and passion and is happy to continue working with him.
Barbera has been in charge of the Venice festival since 2012 and also held the role from 1998 to 2001. In recent years, he has helped raise the festival’s profile by bringing in big movies that could win awards and by working with Netflix, showing films like The Power of the Dog and Maestro.
Barbera started his career as a film critic and later directed other film festivals. Isabelle Huppert will lead the competition jury at this year’s festival, and Peter Weir will receive a special award.
The 2024 Venice film festival will take place from August 28 to September 7.