The Venice film festival awarded its Golden Lion to Woman Unknown, by the Danish-Egyptian director May el-Toukhy, on 12 September 2026.

The prize lands weeks after the festival faced heavy criticism for its lack of female directors in its lineup. El-Toukhy's film — her gripping, stylish drama-thriller — examines sexual shame, political paranoia and the return of the repressed in Denmark after the Second World War.

Did Venice just redeem itself on the sexism issue? By the measure of its winners' list, it may have. The festival not only gave its top prize to a female director, but produced, in the Guardian's assessment, "a really good choice for the top prize" and "a good winners' list all round."

The special jury prize went to NAZA, while Possible Love also featured among the bold, bravura choices that shaped this year's awards.

The criticism that preceded the ceremony was pointed. In an interview published on 6 September, el-Toukhy herself addressed what the Guardian described as the "cult male genius" holding female film-makers back — a charge that crystallised wider anger at the festival's programming balance.

The Golden Lion result answers that anger with a concrete decision rather than a statement. El-Toukhy, a Danish-Egyptian director with a track record in tense, character-driven drama, takes the festival's highest honour with a film set against the aftershocks of the Second World War: paranoia, shame and histories that refuse to stay buried.

The full winners' list — topped by Woman Unknown, with NAZA's special jury prize and recognition for Possible Love — suggests a jury willing to make assertive choices across the board.

Whether this year's results mark a permanent shift in Venice's relationship with female directors, or a single corrective edition, will only become clear when the festival announces its next competition lineup.