Maggie Gyllenhaal certainly knew how to get Venice talking. During her opening press conference as jury president at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, the actor and filmmaker declared that cinema is “fundamentally, unavoidably political,” sparking plenty of discussion about where art ends and politics begins. Now, Dennis Lim has stepped into that conversation, making it clear that he very much agrees.

Both Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dennis Lim have served the festival in different capacities, but their shared perspective has now stretched beyond festival duties. Lim adds his own thoughts to the much-debated question of whether cinema can ever truly be apolitical.

Dennis Lim has backed Maggie Gyllenhaal’s assertion that cinema is “fundamentally, unavoidably political,” adding fresh fuel to a debate already simmering around film festivals. Speaking to Variety, the New York-based film critic, author, and curator, who has served as New York Film Festival artistic director since 2020, made his position clear while discussing the place of politics in cinema.

Lim was responding to a question about the recent debate surrounding politics at film festivals, which gained momentum after Gyllenhaal made her comments during her opening press conference as jury president at the 2026 Venice Film Festival. He agreed that all films are political, arguing that even describing a film as apolitical can itself become a political position.

For Lim, the reason is rather simple: filmmakers are reflecting and responding to the world around them. The New York Film Festival artistic director told Variety that the most urgent and meaningful films being made today are those engaging with the realities of contemporary existence, giving his agreement with Gyllenhaal a broader argument.

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Now that one knows where Dennis Lim stands on the politics of cinema, it is worth looking at how his own work reflects that position, particularly when compared with Wim Wenders’ belief that cinema can instead serve as an antidote to politics.

Dennis Lim’s curatorial choices make his position rather easy to trace. His long-standing advocacy for Hong Sang-soo, whose no-finished-script process, tiny crews and self-funded productions place creative freedom at the centre of filmmaking, is one example. His programming has also embraced filmmakers such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul and, more recently, NAZA, showing his interest in cinema that engages with its surrounding world without becoming conventional political filmmaking.

That same instinct carries into Lim’s writing, where he pays attention to how form can shape what an audience takes from a film. In Tale of Cinema, his examination of Hong Sang-soo’s sudden camera zooms shows how a seemingly tiny directorial choice can disrupt conventional viewing. His NYFF programming follows that same curiosity, making his agreement with Maggie Gyllenhaal feel less like a passing remark and more like a view reflected across his career.

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Do you stand by Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dennis Lim's stance in this debate? Let us know in the comments!