'Woman Unknown' wins Golden Lion, Malkovich 'humbled' by best actor award at Venice Film Festival

Director May el-Toukhy poses for photographers after receiving the Golden Lion for best film for 'Woman Unknown' during the closing ceremony of the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

VENICE, Italy — “Woman Unknown,” a drama about Denmark in the aftermath of the Nazi occupation directed by May el-Toukhy, won the prestigious Golden Lion at the 83rd Venice Film Festival on Saturday.

The Maggie Gyllenhaal-led jury announced the winners, which included a best actor prize for John Malkovich for his performance in the dark CIA comedy “Wild Horse Nine.”

Malkovich was not in attendance at the ceremony, but he sent a video message, explaining that he is shooting in Montreal.

“I am humbled to be chosen for this award which has been given to so many wonderful actors,” Malkovich said.

Only eight women have won a Golden Lion

El-Toukhy, who was the only woman to have solely directed a film in the main competition this year, is the eighth woman to have won the festival’s top prize.

“To me personally, ‘Woman Unknown’ is about the female body as a battleground,” el-Toukhy said. “At the same time the film tells the tale of women who are unseen, invisible and voiceless.”

She thanked Gyllenhaal for using her voice to shine a light on unequal opportunities for women in moviemaking.

The film, which does not yet have distribution in North America, is centred on a young nanny and housemaid who is about to marry her wealthy employer in the immediate aftermath of the war. But she harbours a secret past intimate relationship with a German soldier that threatens to upend her reputation. The lead, Mathilde Arcel, won the festival’s best actress prize.

Arcel was visibly emotional as she accepted the award, which she placed on the floor as she spoke as she said it was very heavy.

“This is my first lead role in a movie and my first time at a film festival,” she said. “I’m extremely honoured.”

South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong’s poetic portrait of class and labour, “Possible Love,” won the Silver Lion grand jury prize. “Possible Love” is Lee’s first film in eight years, following his acclaimed “Burning.”

“We are living in an era where the meaning of labour is fading and human connections are increasingly becoming severed,” Lee said through a translator. “I made this film to ask what cinema can and should do in times like these. I take this award as a sign that you want me to keep asking these questions.”

Gaza documentary takes special jury prize

“NAZA,” a harrowing documentary about military strategies employed in the war in Gaza from Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, was awarded a special jury prize.

“It’s honestly not very easy to stand here, thinking of all the people, the Israeli politicians, the journalists back home who are attacking this film, denying it without even seeing it,” Abraham said. “It is really, really especially important to us that Israelis watch this film.”

The was added to the main competition late — at the request of the filmmakers — and debuted late in the schedule as well, but its impact was felt as it received a record-breaking standing ovation, lasting some 25 minutes, after its premiere.

Shot on the rooftops of Tel Aviv at night in extreme secrecy over three years, “NAZA” features testimony from 24 Israeli military insiders including intelligence officers and soldiers give who insight into the war in Gaza and what they say is the systemic killing of Palestinian civilians.

The jury gave the Silver Lion for directing to Ilya Krzhanovsky for his film “Dau,” a project about the Soviet physicists who built the atomic bomb that has taken over 20 years to make. Krzhanovsky, who renounced his Russian citizenship in protest of the war in Ukraine, dedicated the prize to Ukrainians, including his mother who was born there.

French director Stéphane Brizé’s won the screenplay prize for his corporate drama “A Good Little Soldier.” Malou Khebizi was given the Marcello Mastroianni award for emerging actor for her role in Cédric Kahn’s “A Place to Heal,” which is set in an adolescent psychiatric ward in a public hospital.

The jury this year included “The Voice of Hind Rajab” director Kaouther Ben Hania, English composer Daniel Blumberg, French filmmaker Xavier Giannoli, Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat and Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To.

Malkovich’s Oscar chances just went up

Aside from Malkovich’s win, the starrier, Hollywood films playing in competition were shut out of the awards, including “Primetime,” “Bunker” and “Ink.”

Some look to the Venice Film Festival awards for early indications of who might be in with a shot at Oscar nominations and wins. In recent years, Venice has launched winning best actor campaigns for people like Brendan Fraser and Adrien Brody.

Malkovich has yet to win an Oscar.

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Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press