May el-Toukhy’s Woman Unknown has won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, emerging as the top prize winner from a competition that brought together filmmakers including Lee Chang-dong, Ilya Khrzhanovsky and Martin McDonagh. The Danish-Swedish-Latvian production also earned Mathilde Arcel the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, making it the most decorated film in the festival’s main competition.
Directed by Danish-Egyptian filmmaker May el-Toukhy, Woman Unknown is set in post-World War II Denmark and follows Marie, a young nanny and housemaid preparing to marry her wealthy older employer. Her future becomes complicated by a secret relationship with a German soldier during the wartime occupation. The film uses Marie’s situation to explore sexual repression, social expectations and the position of women in a society dealing with the aftermath of war.
The Golden Lion gives el-Toukhy one of the most significant victories of her career and arrives amid renewed discussion about the representation of women behind the camera at major international festivals. The filmmaker used her acceptance speech to acknowledge the difficulties women continue to face in getting films financed and produced. Variety’s report noted that Woman Unknown was the only film in the main competition solely directed by a woman.
The recognition for Woman Unknown was strengthened by Arcel’s Best Actress victory. The performance marks her first leading role and first major festival acting prize, according to Variety’s report.
The Grand Jury Prize went to Possible Love, the latest film from South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong. The 164-minute drama stars Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong and centres on two married couples from different social backgrounds. A documentary project involving laid-off workers becomes the point through which their relationships and differing class positions begin to intersect.
Possible Love also carries significance beyond Venice. The film has been selected as South Korea’s entry for the Best International Feature Film race at the Academy Awards. Lee used his acceptance speech to reflect on a world in which the meaning of labour is changing and human connections are increasingly being weakened.
The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Russian filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovsky for DAU, an ambitious three-hour-plus project that has been developed over two decades. Khrzhanovsky dedicated the award to Ukrainians fighting in the war and spoke about the film’s connection to migration and his family history.
John Malkovich won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine. The actor plays an eccentric CIA agent in the film, which also stars Sam Rockwell and received considerable attention during the festival. Malkovich was unable to attend the ceremony because he was filming elsewhere, accepting the award through a video message.
The Special Jury Prize went to NAZA, the documentary directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The filmmakers, who were also involved with the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, turn their attention to the Gaza conflict. Abraham used the ceremony to argue for greater attention to the realities documented by the film.
The Best Screenplay prize went to Stéphane Brizé, Coralie Amédéo and Olivier Gorce for the French film A Good Little Soldier. Meanwhile, Malou Khebizi received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress for Cédric Kahn’s A Place to Heal.
Elsewhere in the festival, the Horizons section recognised Diane in the Loop by Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni with its Best Film prize, while Jaqueline Lentzou won Best Director for A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra. Riccardo Scamarcio was named Best Actor for The Children of the Monkey.
The festival also remembered British producer Jeremy Thomas, who died at 77 during Venice. Thomas, who won the Best Picture Oscar for Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, was remembered for his deep commitment to cinema and for a career that included collaborations with some of international cinema’s most distinctive filmmakers.
The 2026 Venice awards ultimately produced a lineup that balanced established auteurs with emerging voices. Woman Unknown dominated the top prizes, while Possible Love, DAU, Wild Horse Nine and NAZA ensured that the festival’s competition remained diverse in both style and subject. With el-Toukhy’s Golden Lion at the centre, Venice closed its 83rd edition by putting a Danish drama about an overlooked woman at the heart of its international cinema conversation.
Important Awards at Venice Film Festival 2026
- Golden Lion for Best Film: Woman Unknown — May el-Toukhy
- Grand Jury Prize: Possible Love — Lee Chang-dong
- Silver Lion for Best Director: Ilya Khrzhanovsky — DAU
- Special Jury Prize: NAZA — Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor
- Best Screenplay: Stéphane Brizé, Coralie Amédéo and Olivier Gorce — A Good Little Soldier
- Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Mathilde Arcel — Woman Unknown
- Volpi Cup for Best Actor: John Malkovich — Wild Horse Nine
Read More: