May el-Toukhy, the only woman directing a feature in the main competition, took the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion on Saturday as her post-war drama Woman Unknown won the top prize.
The Danish filmmaker’s victory came alongside a best actress award for her star, Mathilde Arcel, making it a rare double win for a single film. Arcel plays a housemaid in a newly liberated Denmark whose past relationship with a German soldier threatens to destroy her future, unfolding against the aftermath of World War II when women accused of fraternising with occupying forces were often subjected to vigilante justice.
“To me personally, Woman Unknown is about the female body as a battleground and a public matter. And at the same time, the film tells the tale of women who are invisible, unseen, and voiceless,” el-Toukhy said in her acceptance speech.
Her selection to a 21-strong lineup with no other women directors drew criticism during the festival and prompted renewed scrutiny of the barriers facing women in cinema.
South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong took the runner-up Silver Lion for Possible Love, while Russian-born filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovsky won best director for DAU, shot largely in Ukraine before the ongoing war. Khrzhanovsky, who has renounced his Russian citizenship, dedicated his prize to Ukraine.
John Malkovich was named best actor for playing an ageing CIA agent in Martin McDonagh’s comedy Wild Horse Nine. The Special Jury Prize went to NAZA, a documentary by Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor that accuses the Israeli military of routinely approving mass civilian deaths in Gaza, a charge Israel denies. The film received a 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Thursday.
Stephane Brize, Coralie Amedeo and Olivier Gorce received the screenplay award for the French workplace drama A Good Little Soldier, while Malou Khebizi was named best emerging young actor for A Place to Heal.