May el Toukhy Wins Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival

The 83rd Venice Film Festival concluded with the awarding of the Golden Lion to Danish filmmaker May el Toukhy for her film Woman Unknown. The drama focuses on a housemaid in post World War II Denmark whose past relationship with a German soldier threatens her future. Mathilde Arcel also won the Coppa Volpi for Best Actress for her lead role in the film. In a rare double victory, the film took both the top prize and an acting award. El Toukhy was the only woman directing a feature film in the main competition, a disparity that drew criticism during the festival. Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal addressed the systemic gender inequality in the film industry during the proceedings.

An Israeli documentary titled NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, received a special jury prize. The film features testimonies from 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers who describe the systemic killing of civilians in Gaza using AI powered targeting systems. During his acceptance speech, Abraham stated that the mass killing is not accidental but by design and criticized the United States for financing much of the slaughter. He also called on Israelis, Europeans, and Americans to watch the film to acknowledge these crimes.

Other awards included the Best Director prize given to Ilya Khrzhanovsky for DAU, a project shot largely in Ukraine. Khrzhanovsky, who has renounced his Russian citizenship, dedicated the prize to Ukraine. John Malkovich was named Best Actor for his role in Martin McDonagh's comedy Wild Horse Nine.