Liza Soberano Joins Golden Globes Documentary Prize Jury at 2026 Venice Film Festival
Liza Soberano has been named to the jury for the Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, which runs from September 2 to 12 Variety.
The prize honours a documentary feature in Venice's official selection — whether in or out of competition — that exemplifies the power of nonfiction filmmaking to illuminate social issues. The winner receives a $10,000 cash prize from the Artemis Rising Foundation Variety.
Soberano joins a five-member jury that includes Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne, Artemis Rising Foundation founder Regina K. Scully, Impact Partners co-founder Geralyn White Dreyfous, and Think-Film Impact Production founder and CEO Danielle Turkov Wilson Variety.
The Golden Globes, the Artemis Rising Foundation, and Think-Film Impact Production first partnered to launch a documentary prize at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, then expanded the partnership to Venice the following year. At Cannes in May 2026, actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. served on the jury, and Joshua and Rebecca Tickell took the prize Golden Globes. At Venice in 2025, actors Jharrel Jerome and Teo Yoo joined the inaugural jury, and Ross McElwee's documentary Remake won the award, presented on September 6 Golden Globes.
Soberano, who is Filipino-American, moved from California to the Philippines as a child and built her career in Filipino cinema and television before crossing into Hollywood. She made her American film debut in Focus Features' Lisa Frankenstein in 2024 and has a lead voice role in DreamWorks Animation's Forgotten Island, set for release in September Variety.
Her advocacy work tracks closely with the prize's focus on social-impact storytelling. Soberano is an ambassador for Save the Children Philippines and campaigns for women's and children's rights, the protection of children from online sexual exploitation, and mental health awareness Variety.
The Venice Film Festival's main competition jury this year is led by American actress and filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal, announced by organisers in April 2026 Philippine Star. The Impact Prize jury operates separately, focusing solely on the documentary selection.
What gives the jury appointment its weight is the intersection it represents: a working actress with a platform in both Filipino and Hollywood industries, sitting alongside producers and foundation heads whose decisions direct money and attention to documentaries tackling real-world harm. For Soberano, whose advocacy centres on children and women, the fit between her off-screen causes and the prize's mandate is direct rather than symbolic.
The 83rd Venice Film Festival runs September 2–12, 2026.
