Danish-Egyptian filmmaker May el-Toukhy won the Golden Lion on Saturday at the Venice Film Festival. The award is the festival’s highest prize. Her post-World War II drama, “Woman Unknown,” won against 21 films in the main competition.
The film also earned its lead actress, Mathilde Arcel, the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.
The victory marked an important moment for el-Toukhy. She was the only woman to direct a feature film in this year’s main competition. Her win also made her the eighth female director to claim the festival’s top prize.
Who is May el-Toukhy?
May el-Toukhy was born in Copenhagen to a Danish mother and an Egyptian father. She has become one of Denmark’s leading filmmakers.
She previously directed “Long Story Short” and “Queen of Hearts.” Her 2019 film “Queen of Hearts” won the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
“Woman Unknown” is el-Toukhy’s third feature film. It also marks her return to feature filmmaking after several years.
Her films often explore complicated relationships, power and difficult moral choices. She creates characters with both positive and negative qualities rather than presenting them as simply good or bad.
Complicated individuals
Before the Venice premiere, el-Toukhy spoke with Cineuropa about her approach to filmmaking.
She said she wants to explore the full personality of her characters. She does not want to reduce people to simple labels such as victim or perpetrator.
That approach plays an important role in “Woman Unknown.” The film examines personal choices while also looking at the social pressures surrounding women after World War II.
El-Toukhy also used her Venice appearance to highlight the lack of women directors in major film competitions.
She described gender inequality in filmmaking as a structural problem. She has also experienced some of those challenges during her own career.
What is ‘Woman Unknown’ about?
“Woman Unknown” takes place in Denmark in 1945, shortly after the end of the Nazi occupation.
The story follows Marie, a young nanny and housemaid. She plans to marry Christina, a wealthy older woman? Wait, let’s correct based on your supplied text: Marie is preparing to marry her wealthy, older employer, Christina.
Marie hides a secret that could destroy her new life. She had an intimate relationship with a German soldier during the occupation.
After liberation, women who had relationships with German soldiers faced public humiliation and punishment. The film explores the suffering these women experienced.
However, “Woman Unknown” goes beyond the wartime romance. El-Toukhy examines how Danish society treated women who became involved with German soldiers. The film also explores the way their private relationships became matters of public judgment.
Historical research
She drew on historical research and also interviewed some of the women who are still alive.
Her research has allowed her to gain the idea of the female body as a “battlefield.”
The women were treated as if their bodies represented national identity, making their private relationships a public matter.
“We’ve reached a point where we’re able to tell stories of World War II and show the complexities of the period,” el-Toukhy told Cineuropa.
Speaking about choosing Arcel to lead the role, el-Toukhy said she deliberately cast her as she was a newcomer in the industry, and that an unknown actress would help audiences discover Marie without bringing an already established identity to the role.
Despite being a newcomer, Arcel reached the top and even won the Venice award for Best Actress.
El-Toukhy uses Venice win to spotlight women’s untold stories
As she accepted her award, el-Toukhy dedicated her achievement to the women whose stories inspired “Woman Unknown.”
“What kept me going was the urgent need to illuminate the unknown women of our common history, to make them known,” she said.
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