Danish-Egyptian director May el-Toukhy’s historical drama Woman Unknown won the Golden Lion for best film at the 2026 Venice Film Festival. Set in the immediate aftermath of Denmark's liberation from Nazi occupation, the narrative follows a young housemaid anxious about revealing a wartime relationship with a German soldier before marrying her widowed employer. Lead actor Mathilde Arcel also received the Volpi Cup for best actress—an unusual double victory that jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal noted was granted following a unanimous vote.
Accepting the top honor, El-Toukhy spoke of the arduous production process and expressed her aim to highlight the forgotten experiences of women throughout history. Woman Unknown was notably the only entry in the festival's main competition directed solely by a woman. El-Toukhy commended Gyllenhaal for raising the issue of gender underrepresentation in film during the opening of the festival.
The runner-up Grand Jury Prize went to South Korean director Lee Chang-dong for Possible Love, while the Special Jury Prize was awarded to NAZA, a Gaza documentary co-directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. Centered on testimony from 24 Israeli military insiders regarding AI-assisted operations in Gaza, the film sparked criticism from Israeli figures, while the Israeli military categorically denied its claims.
In other major awards, Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovsky secured the Silver Lion for best director with DAU, a biopic of Nobel Prize-winning quantum physicist Lev Landau, despite earlier Ukrainian government objections concerning funding and casting. Meanwhile, American actor John Malkovich took the Volpi Cup for best actor for his role in Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, accepting the prize via video link.