Entertainment · updated 2h ago · 3 min read
May El-Toukhy’s Woman Unknown Wins Golden Lion at 83rd Venice Film Festival
Woman Unknown won the Golden Lion for best film at Venice 83rd edition. May el-Toukhy was the only woman directing a feature in the main competition.
Whether the all-woman win is a political statement.
7 of 8 outlets skipped it: only 8 women have won a Golden Lion.
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Variety
“Gyllenhaal rejected the notion that she and her fellow jury members were making any sort of “political statement””Read the original ↗
Vulture
“Venice jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal points out a systemic issue in the film industry.”Read the original ↗
Variety focuses on Gyllenhaal rejecting a political framing, while Vulture stresses her systemic industry critique.
Golden Lion for Woman Unknown
May el-Toukhy’s “Woman Unknown” won the Golden Lion for best film at the 83rd Venice Film Festival on Saturday, with its star Mathilde Arcel also taking best actress honours in a rare double victory.
“won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, with its star Mathilde Arcel also taking best actress honours”
The film, set in Denmark in the aftermath of the Nazi occupation, follows a housemaid whose past relationship with a German soldier threatens to destroy her future, and it was awarded by a competition jury led by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
El-Toukhy was the only woman to have solely directed a feature film in the main competition’s 21-strong movie line-up, and the Reuters report said the disparity drew criticism during the festival and prompted renewed scrutiny of the barriers facing women in cinema.
Arcel won the Volpi Cup for best actress, and John Malkovich was named best actor for his performance in Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine,” with Malkovich speaking via a videolink from Canada where he was shooting a new project.
In her acceptance speech, el-Toukhy said, “The film tells the story of invisible women. Women who go unseen and unheard.”
Gyllenhaal rejects gender claim
At a press conference after the awards ceremony, Maggie Gyllenhaal rejected the notion that the jury’s selection of “Woman Unknown” was a “political statement,” telling reporters, “I actually didn’t see ‘Woman Unknown,'” she deadpanned.
Gyllenhaal said she was “tired of talking about this same subject over and over,” and added that she wanted to “celebrate a beautifully made movie” that she felt was “like a laser beam just for the well-made movie that it is.”
Variety reported that Gyllenhaal also explained the jury’s decision to award Mathilde Arcel the Volpi Cup, saying, “You’re allowed to give two awards to a Golden Lion winner if the second award you want to give is unanimous,” and that the jury unanimously allowed it.V
The same Reuters report described how the festival offered a programme steeped in global politics and social upheaval, including “NAZA,” a documentary by Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor that won the Special Jury Prize.
Abraham, speaking at the awards, said, “We believe that denial of a crime is what helps it persist,” as the documentary’s Gaza-focused allegations remained central to the festival’s political tone.
NAZA prize and wider fallout
“NAZA,” directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and the Reuters report said it was based on anonymous interviews with 24 Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers.
“Based on anonymous interviews with 24 Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers”
The documentary accuses the Israeli military of routinely approving mass civilian deaths when they target militants in the Gaza Strip, and Reuters added that Israel has denied the charge.
Reuters also reported that “NAZA” received a record 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Thursday, and that it was the second year in succession that a film about Gaza resonated in Venice after “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”
The Guardian said the film’s title takes its name from an acronym used by the intelligence service to indicate how many civilians it expects to die in an airstrike on Gaza, and it quoted Abraham saying, “So much is being done not to look at reality.”
Beyond the top prizes, the Venice awards also included a Silver Lion for best director for Ilya Khrzhanovsky for “DAU,” and the Reuters report said the festival marked the start of the awards season and regularly throws up big favourites for the Oscars.