Denmark Sends Venice Winner 'Woman Unknown' to the Oscars

Denmark has selected May el-Toukhy's "Woman Unknown," winner of this year's Golden Lion at Venice, as its official entry for the international feature film category at the Oscars.

The film took Venice's top prize from a jury presided over by Maggie Gyllenhaal. El-Toukhy was the only female director in competition at this year's festival. "Woman Unknown" also earned its star Mathilde Arcel the Coppa Volpi for best actress. The film went on to screen at Toronto and will next play at the BFI London Film Festival as well as Busan.

Tine Fischer, CEO of the Danish Film Institute, chaired the Danish Oscar committee that made the selection. "May el-Toukhy has already made history with 'Woman Unknown,' becoming only the second Danish director to win the Golden Lion in Venice, following Carl Th. Dreyer's Ordet in 1955," Fischer said.

Fischer described the film as a "bold and uncompromising film that explores guilt, shame and morality, showing how women's bodies and destinies become the focus of society's condemnation and control." She added: "It is a film that offers no easy answers but dares to ask difficult and important questions. With its strong artistic vision and thematic complexity, it is well positioned to make its mark in the Oscar race."

The film is set in Copenhagen in May 1945. Marie prepares for her summer wedding to an older, respected widower, having worked for several years as a maid in his household and cared for his daughter. According to the synopsis, "a new life finally seems within reach. But beneath the seemingly idyllic surface lies a secret that could shatter her dream. And as the truth about her shameful past comes ever closer to being revealed, the price she is willing to pay grows ever higher. No one must know the truth."

El-Toukhy previously directed "Queen of Hearts," which won the Audience Award at Sundance and received both the Robert and Bodil Awards in Denmark. She went on to direct episodes of the Emmy-winning series "The Crown" and was one of the initiators of Dogma25, launched during the Cannes Film Festival in 2025.

Mikael Christian Rieks produced "Woman Unknown" for Nordisk Film Production, with support from the Danish Film Institute. The film opens in Danish cinemas on Feb. 4, ahead of the Oscar campaign that Fischer believes can carry it deep into the race.