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Venice: May el-Toukhy's 'Woman Unknown' wins Golden Lion; Lee Chang-dong takes Silver Lion

Woman Unknown, directed by May el-Toukhy, won the Golden Lion at the 83rd Venice Film Festival on Saturday, September 12, from a jury led by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Euronews reported. Set in Denmark after the Nazi occupation, it follows a young nanny, played by Mathilde Arcel, whose past with a German soldier threatens her marriage to her wealthy employer. Arcel won best actress for her first lead role.

South Korea's Lee Chang-dong won the Silver Lion grand jury prize for Possible Love. The special jury prize went to NAZA by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, Ilya Khrzhanovsky won best director for DAU, and John Malkovich won best actor for Wild Horse Nine.

The A.V. Club said el-Toukhy was the first woman to win the Golden Lion since Laura Poitras in 2022, and that NAZA, about Israeli targeting of Palestinians in the Gaza war, set Venice's record for the longest standing ovation. It noted that Possible Love is already South Korea's Oscar entry.

“For me personally, Woman Unknown talks about the woman's body as a battlefield.” — May el-Toukhy, via The A.V. Club

Outlook India printed the full list of winners and noted none were Indian.

How each outlet framed it

• Euronews — the speeches, including Krzhanovsky's dedication to Ukrainians.
• The A.V. Club — awards-season stakes and the NAZA ovation.
• Outlook India — the complete list, section by section.

Where the words differ: Euronews quoted Malkovich as “humbled to be chosen”; The A.V. Club and Outlook India had him “really glad to have been chosen”.