May el-Toukhy wins Golden Lion at 83rd Venice Film Festival for Woman Unknown

Golden Lion awarded to May el-Toukhy

The jury of the 83rd Venice Film Festival awarded the Golden Lion to Danish director May el-Toukhy on 12 September 2026 for her feature film Woman Unknown. The 49-year-old filmmaker is the eighth woman in the festival's history to win the main prize. The festival, which opened on 2 September 2026 on the Venetian Lido, ranks alongside the Cannes Film Festival as one of the most significant events in cinema. The official competition in 2026 featured 21 films, of which only two were directed by women. Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal addressed this disparity during the festival, describing the low proportion of female filmmakers as a structural problem.

Post-war drama in Woman Unknown

Woman Unknown secured two top honours at the closing ceremony, as Danish lead actress Mathilde Arcel received the award for best actress. The historical drama is set in Denmark in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War and centres on a young Danish woman named Marie. Marie stands on the verge of marriage to her wealthy employer, representing a decisive social rise. However, that prospective future is imperilled by a secret from the wartime occupation period, during which she maintained an affair with a German soldier. In a tense post-war climate defined by public desires for retribution, Marie puts everything on the line to shield her hard-won life from exposure.

Acting honours for Wild Horse Nine

American actor John Malkovich received the best actor prize for his performance in Wild Horse Nine, directed by Martin McDonagh. The 72-year-old actor accepted the prize by video message sent from Montreal, where he was filming another project. The film takes place in 1973 shortly before the military coup in Chile, following two veteran CIA operatives, Chris (played by Malkovich) and Lee (played by Sam Rockwell), who travel to Easter Island. Isolated on the island, both operatives confront their pasts and personal crises. Chris, who is terminally ill, initiates contact with two rebellious university students and begins compromising CIA plans and secrets through enigmatic conduct. While CIA meddling in Chile and American power politics provide the backdrop, the narrative centres on the bond between the two men. Following the premiere, critics in Venice predicted an Academy Award nomination for Malkovich, with reporters asking at the press conference whether he had drafted an Oscar speech.

Festival jury recognitions

The festival jury distributed its remaining awards across several international productions. The Grand Jury Prize, the second most prestigious award of the festival, went to South Korean director Lee Chang-dong for Possible Love. The Special Jury Prize was awarded to Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor for their documentary NAZA, which focuses on Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. Russian-born director Ilya Khrzhanovsky won the prize for best director for Dau. The best screenplay award was presented to director and writer Stéphane Brizé, alongside co-screenwriters Coralie Amédéo and Olivier Gorce, for Un bon petit soldat.