May el-Toukhy's Woman Unknown wins Golden Lion at 83rd Venice Film Festival
May el-Toukhy took the top award at the 83rd Venice Film Festival for Woman Unknown, while Mathilde Arcel and John Malkovich earned the principal acting prizes.
Golden Lion and main competition prizes
The jury of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, presided over by Maggie Gyllenhaal, awarded the Golden Lion to Woman Unknown (Kvinde Ukendt), directed by Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy. The Danish, Swedish, and Latvian co-production depicts the experiences of horizontal collaborators, women throughout Europe during the Second World War who maintained relationships with soldiers from occupying forces and were subjected to violence and public humiliation after the war. Gyllenhaal led a seven-member jury comprising Kaouther Ben Hania, Daniel Blumberg, Francesco Casetti, Xavier Giannoli, Shahrbanoo Sadat, and Johnnie To, who evaluated 21 feature films selected for the official competition.
South Korean director Lee Chang-dong received the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize for Possible Love (Ga-Neung-Han Sa-Rang). The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Ilya Khrzhanovsky for the film Dau, a production involving Germany, France, and Sweden.
Acting honours and special jury recognitions
Danish actress Mathilde Arcel won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her lead role in Woman Unknown. The Volpi Cup for Best Actor went to John Malkovich for his performance in Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine, a production involving the United Kingdom, the United States, and Chile. Malkovich was unable to attend the closing ceremony in Venice because he was working on a film set.
The competition jury awarded the Marcello Mastroianni Award for an emerging performer to 23-year-old actress Malou Khebizi for her role in Cédric Kahn's 15/18 (A Place to Heal). The prize for Best Screenplay was awarded to Stéphane Brizé, Coralie Amedeo, and Olivier Gorce for Un bon petit soldat. The Special Jury Prize recognised Naza, a film directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.
Orizzonti section winners and Italian honours
In the Orizzonti section, the jury led by French director Valérie Donzelli, alongside Peter Becker, Elizabeth Lo, David Pablos, and Barbara Ronchi, awarded Best Film to Un détour par Diane (Diane in the Loop) by Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni. Jacqueline Lentzou won the Best Director prize for A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra, while Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu took the Special Jury Prize for La Maison du Vent (House of the Wind).
Iranian actress Laleh Marzban received the Orizzonti award for Best Actress for Falling House (Moragheb), directed by Mohsen Gharaei and produced across Iran, the United States, and Germany. The Best Actor award in the category went to Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio for his role in Tommaso Landucci's I Figli della Scimmia. Landucci and co-writer Damiano Femfert also received the Orizzonti award for Best Screenplay for the same film. In his acceptance speech, Scamarcio addressed his family and colleagues.
I dedicate this award to all the fathers in the world, including my own and my mother.
Scamarcio also dedicated part of the honour to his co-star in the production.
I share this award with a young actor making his debut, his name is Andrea Aggio, who plays my son in the film.
