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Woman Unknown took home the Golden Lion
Photo: Courtesy of Venice Film Festival
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Danish Egyptian filmmaker May el-Toukhy’s Woman Unknown took home the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice Film Festival last night.
Set in the wake of the Nazi occupation of Denmark, el-Toukhy's third feature focuses on a young housemaid harbouring a secret as she plans to marry her rich employer.
In her winner’s speech, el-Toukhy referenced the “lack of equal opportunities for female filmmakers in our industry” - noticeable even in the Venice line-up, where she was the only female solo director present in the competition.
There was also success for Mathilde Arcel, who plays the lead in the film. She won the best actress Volpi Cup while John Malkovich took home the male equivalent for Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine.
Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize. It charts the tale of two married couples whose paths cross courtesy of a documentarian.
The Special Jury Prize was awarded to Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor for their hard-hitting documentary NAZA, which interviews Israeli Intelligence Corps operatives about their actions in Gaza.
Abraham said: ”We believe that denial of the crime is what helps it persist.”
Ilya Khrzanovsky won the best director Silver Lion for Dau, the latest entry of his multi-format project following a USSR physicist over four decades.
The best screenplay prize went to Golden Osella for Stéphane Brizé’s A Good Little Soldier.
Several participants in the ceremony paid tribute to British producer Jeremy Thomas, who died on Friday.
In the Orizzonti sidebar, the top prize went to Belgian film Diane In The Loop, directed by Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni, which offers an unusual offbeat consideration of generational trauma. In that section, it was a good night for Italian film Children Of The Monkey, which saw Tommaso Landucci and Damiano Femfert take home the best screenplay and Riccardo Scamarcio named best actor.
The full list of awards is below:
Competition
● Golden Lion - Woman Unknown, dir. May el-Toukhy
● Special Jury Prize - NAZA, dir. Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
● Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize - Possible Love, dir. Lee Chang-dong
● Silver Lion for best director - Ilya Khrzanovsky for Dau
● Volpi Cup for best actress - Mathilde Arcel for Woman Unknown
● Volpi Cup for best actor - John Malkovich for Wild Horse Nine
● Golden Osella for best screenplay - A Good Little Soldier
● Marcello Mastroianni award for emerging actor/actress - Malou Khebizi for A Place To Heal
● Audience Award - I Matter, dir. Alina Şerban
Horizons
● Best film - Diane In The Loop, dirs. Ann Sirot, Raphaël Balboni
● Best director - Jacqueline Lentzou for A Day In The Life Of Jo: Chapter Phaedra
● Special jury prize - House Of The Wind, dir. Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
● Best actress - Laleh Marzban for Falling House
● Best actor - Riccardo Scamarcio for Children Of The Monkey
● Best screenplay - Tommaso Landucci, Damian Femert for Children Of The Monkey
● Best short film - A Few Moments Of Happiness, dir. Shaden Safieddine Tazi
● Luigi De Laurentiis award for debut film - House Of The Wind, dir. Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
Venice Classics
● Best restored film - Long Night Of 1943, dir. Florestano Vancini
Venice Immersive
● Grand Prize - The Pigeon Ring, cre. Shixin Tao, Yuqi Zhang
● Special Jury Prize - Out Of The Ashes, cre. Rory Mitchell, Nonny de la Peña
● Achievement Prize - Empire At Sea, cre. Peter Flaherty
