Festival
Film i Väst co-production Woman Unknown wins the Golden Lion in Venice
2026-09-12
Film i Väst co-production Woman Unknown wins the Golden Lion in Venice
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Film i Väst co-production Woman Unknown, directed by May el-Toukhy, has tonight been awarded the Golden Lion, the prestigious top prize at the Venice International Film Festival, while Mathilde Arcel has received the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her leading role as Marie.
The film competed in the Official Competition at the 83rd edition of the Venice International Film Festival and is a Danish-Swedish-Latvian co-production. Woman Unknown is directed by May el-Toukhy, who also wrote the screenplay together with Maren Louise Kähne.
“It’s incredibly exciting and a great recognition for May el-Toukhy, Mathilde Arcel and the entire team behind "Woman Unknown". We are very proud to be part of the film and of the international attention it is now receiving. The fact that the film has won the Golden Lion and that Mathilde Arcel has also received the Volpi Cup for Best Actress is a fantastic recognition of the film’s artistic quality. That a co-production with such strong ties to western Sweden has achieved this level of international recognition is also a fantastic testament to the international level of our co-productions,” says Kristina Börjeson, Head of Production at Film i Väst.
In "Woman Unknown", we meet Marie, a young nanny and housemaid, who is about to marry the wealthy older widower, Christian, for whom she is working. But Marie guards a shameful secret. During World War II, she was in an intimate relationship with a German soldier. Now Marie’s past threatens to catch up with her, and she is forced to do everything in her power to preserve her new status as lady of the house in post-war anarchy.
"Woman Unknown" is produced by Mikael Rieks for Nordisk Film Production A/S, in co-production with Nafta Films, Nordisk Film Production Sweden and Film i Väst, with support from, among others, the Danish Film Institute, Eurimages, the Swedish Film Institute and SVT. The film was partly shot in Gothenburg, and the VFX post-production was carried out by Dupp Film in region Västra Götaland.
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Woman Unknown
May el-Toukhy
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