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Venice Film Festival ends with Golden Lion at stake after ‘NAZA’ draws record ovation
The post-World War II Danish drama also gave Mathilde Arcel the best actress prize in a rare double win, the jury said.
On Saturday, Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy's post-war drama "Woman Unknown" won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, with star Mathilde Arcel securing best actress honors in a rare double victory.
El-Toukhy's achievement highlighted a stark gender disparity: she was the only woman directing a feature in the festival's 21-strong main line-up, drawing criticism and prompting renewed scrutiny of systemic barriers facing women filmmakers.
Beyond the top prize, John Malkovich won best actor for "Wild Horse Nine", while South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong took the Silver Lion for "Promised Love" and Russian-born filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovsky won best director for "DAU".
Documentary "NAZA" by Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor won the Special Jury Prize, following Thursday's record 25-minute standing ovation for "The Voice of Hind Rajab", highlighting the festival's focus on global politics.
Festival director Alberto Barbera defended the male-dominated line-up as merit-based, even as many big studio-backed Hollywood contenders remained absent this year due to cost-cutting measures.
The Danish-Egyptian director paid tribute to "invisible and voiceless women." Ilia Khrjanovski dedicated her silver lion "to Ukrainians fighting for freedom," and Israelis Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor received the jury's special prize for their documentary on civilians killed by the Israeli army in Gaza.