Only Solo Woman in Venice Festival Says Industry Remains Unequal
- On Sunday, Danish director May el-Toukhy unveiled her drama 'Woman Unknown' at the Venice Film Festival, standing as the only woman directing a fiction film among 21 contenders for the Golden Lion.
- El-Toukhy attributed the scarcity to structural barriers, telling a news conference it took her 'six or seven years' to complete her first film after graduation while male peers advanced faster.
- Inspired by Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich's 'The Unwomanly Face of War,' the film explores women accused of relationships with German soldiers during World War II, examining how female bodies became tied to national identity.
- Actress Mathilde Arcel, who plays Marie, said the film sheds light on decades of hidden stigma, noting 'There are women who never even told their families' about wartime experiences, even today during Denmark's Liberation Day.
- El-Toukhy warned that despite post-MeToo awareness, the industry is 'returning to what it used to be' regarding gender imbalance, while joining the Dogma 25 movement to rethink filmmaking practices.
29 Articles
29 Articles
Venice, September 7 (askanews) - At the Venice Film Festival, May El-Toukhy is one of only two female directors in the main competition. The Danish-Egyptian director presents "Woman Unknown," the story of a Danish bride-to-be who tries to hide a war secret: an affair with a Nazi during the German occupation of Denmark in World War II. In the initial selection, El-Toukhy was the only woman among twenty male directors. A second film directed by a …
Movie industry backsliding on gender: director
When Danish director May el-Toukhy was selected for the top competition at the Venice Film Festival in July, she was the only female filmmaker in a 20-strong field — with a movie “about the invisibility of women.”She joked about the irony at a press conference on Sunday, while pointing out that prog
May el-Toukhy directed "Woman Unknown", one of two 21 women's films in the Golden Lion race.
The Danish-Egyptian director came to present her last film: the story in Denmark, at the end of the Second World War, of a nanny who married her employer.
His "Women Unknown" set during the Second World War
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
