May el-Toukhy has won the Golden Lion at the 2026 Venice Film Festival for Woman Unknown, while Mathilde Arcel took the Volpi Cup for Best Actress in the same film. The Danish-Egyptian director’s post-war drama follows a housemaid hiding a relationship with a German soldier as she prepares to marry her wealthy employer, according to The National.
May el-Toukhy Woman Unknown wins Venice’s top prize
Reuters reported that May el-Toukhy Woman Unknown won the Golden Lion at the close of the festival, with Arcel’s acting prize giving the film a second major award. El-Toukhy was the only woman to solely direct a feature in the 21-film main competition, bringing renewed attention to the barriers facing women directors. Reuters coverage also noted that Venice often produces early awards-season favourites.
El-Toukhy, who was born in Copenhagen to a Danish mother and Egyptian father, said the film was driven by “the urgent need to illuminate the unknown women of our common history, to make them known”. Her previous films include “Long Story Short” and “Queen of Hearts”, which won the World Cinema Dramatic audience award at Sundance in 2019.
The film’s story is set in Denmark after the Second World War. Arcel plays Marie, a housemaid whose wartime relationship threatens the future she is trying to build. The Danish, Swedish and Latvian production also places the festival’s gender imbalance inside the film’s subject: women facing public punishment for relationships with occupying soldiers.
Other 2026 Venice Film Festival winners
Lebanese-Moroccan filmmaker Shaden Safieddine Tazi won the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film for A Few Moments of Happiness. The documentary follows a Lebanese filmmaker in Paris watching the conflict in Lebanon through her phone, using screen recordings and family voices.
South Korean director Lee Chang-dong won the Silver Lion grand jury prize for Possible Love. Ilya Khrzhanovsky won the directing award for Dau, while John Malkovich took Best Actor for Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine.
The National reported that Woman Unknown was the only film in the main competition solely directed by a woman. At a press conference, el-Toukhy described the lack of opportunities for women directors as “very, very much a structural problem”.
Who directed Woman Unknown?
Danish-Egyptian filmmaker May el-Toukhy directed Woman Unknown.
What did Woman Unknown win at Venice?
Woman Unknown won the Golden Lion, Venice’s top prize, and Mathilde Arcel won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.
What is Woman Unknown about?
The post-war drama follows Marie, a housemaid hiding a relationship with a German soldier while preparing to marry her wealthy employer.
