The 83rd Venice Film Festival on September 12, 2026, awarded the Golden Lion to Danish director May el-Toukhy's postwar drama "Woman Unknown." A Gaza war documentary titled "NAZA" won the Special Jury Prize, sparking an Israeli government response; by September 14, Israel's Culture Minister threatened to revoke the filmmakers' citizenship, and the Israeli military ordered a legal review.
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A Danish WWII drama about a woman trying to hide a wartime relationship with a Nazi was awared top prize on Saturday at The Venice Film Festival, while Gaza documentary NAZA snagged the special jury prize. "Unknown Woman" had been a major talking point of the festival due to its subject matter, which has rarely been explored in film, and because director May el-Toukhy was almost alone as a woman d
‘NAZA’, a documentary about Israel’s genocide in Gaza, has won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
📰 'Woman Unknown' wins Golden Lion award at the 83rd Venice Film Festival while 'Naza' wins special jury prize El-Toukhy's drama depicts the life of a young nanny and housekeeper who marries her wealthy and older widower employer, but harbours a shameful secret that threatens to unravel her new life and status in the post-World War II anarchy.... 🔗 https://www. euronews.com/culture/2026/09/1 2/v
May el-Toukhy’s Danish-Egyptian postwar drama “Woman Unknown” won the Golden Lion for best film at the 83rd Venice Film Festival on Saturday, September 12. Mathilde Arcel, who plays a housemaid hiding a wartime relationship with a German soldier, won the Volpi Cup for best actress, giving the film both the Golden Lion and an acting prize [scmp.com#1][france24.com#1][theguardian.com#1][thenationaln
Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy’s post-war drama Woman Unknown won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, with its star Mathilde Arcel also taking best actress honours in a rare double victory. El-Toukhy was the only woman directing a feature film in the main, 21-strong film line-up, a disparity that drew criticism during the festival and prompted renewed scrutiny of the barriers
While many festival-goers thought NAZA would win, the Golden Lion went to May el-Toukhy’s A Woman Unknown.
The film won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday. It reveals 'in detail the systems behind Israel's calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza' following the events of October 7, according to its synopsis
Israel’s Culture Minister Miki Zohar threatened to revoke the citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after their Gaza documentary NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Zohar called the film “vile” and said it “constitutes treason.” The documentary examines the systems behind Israel’s killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, using testimony from IDF soldiers
Abraham and Szor’s film, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, takes its title from the Israeli military acronym for “collateral damage."
Israel’s top military officer on Monday ordered lawyers to examine steps against the filmmakers behind the Gaza war documentary NAZA that took the jury’s special prize at the Venice Film Festival. Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir instructed the military prosecutor to “examine and advance possible legal measures concerning the film and those involved in it”, the military posted on social media