The Venice Film Festival has reversed course and reinstated its opening jury press conference, days after telling Deadline the event had been scrapped due to a "scheduling conflict". The U-turn followed Deadline's reporting on the cancellation, which prompted a backlash from the press over concerns about transparency, given the press conference is a longstanding fixture for A-list festival juries.

Deadline had initially been told on Saturday that the conference would not go ahead, with a festival executive proposing a "more relaxed welcome cocktail" with journalists as an alternative. The festival confirmed the reversal on Sunday, days before the event opens on Wednesday and runs from 2–12 September. This year's jury, headed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, includes Kaouther Ben Hania, Daniel Blumberg, Francesco Casetti, Xavier Giannoli, Shahrbanoo Sadat and Johnnie To; the conference comes amid a wider trend of festivals seeking to avoid politically charged questions, following tense exchanges at Berlin and Venice's own jury conferences in recent years over issues including the Israel-Gaza war.