Venice Film Festival ends with Golden Lion at stake after ‘NAZA’ draws record ovation
May el-Toukhy’s postwar Danish drama also gave Mathilde Arcel the best actress prize, marking a rare double win for a female-directed film.
- 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.
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225 Articles
The Venice Jury 83, presided over by Maggie Gyllenhaal and composed by Kaouther Ben Hania, Daniel Blumberg, Francesco Casetti, Xavier Giannoli, Shahrbanoo Sadat and Johnnie To, after having seen the...
An award at the Venice Film Festival is one of the most important awards for filmmakers. This year, the Golden Lion went to May el-Toukhy's "Women Unknown" for the best film. There was also a prize for a Gaza documentary.
The title also gave its female protagonist, Mathilde Arcel, the Volpi Cup of Best Female Interpretation. John Malkovich won the Best Male Interpretation
Great success for May El-Toukhy: The Danish-Egyptian director has been awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Her film tells the story of a young domestic worker in post-war Denmark.
‘Woman Unknown’ Wins Venice Golden Lion; John Malkovich Takes Best Actor
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival has come to a close, and May el-Toukhy’s “Woman Unknown” emerged as the big winner, taking the Golden Lion for Best Film and earning star Mathilde Arcel the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. The double win is particularly notable because Venice generally prohibits films from receiving more than one major Competition prize. The festival’s rules allow a Golden Lion winner to additionally receive an acting awar…
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