May el-Toukhy, the director of "Woman Unknown", has spoken out about the persistent gender imbalance in film, noting that she was originally the only woman among 20 directors selected for this year's Venice Film Festival competition lineup. Speaking at the festival's press conference, she described the issue as deeply structural, affecting women throughout their careers, from leaving film school to securing budgets and casting, and argued that female directors are never afforded the "genius" label routinely given to their male counterparts.

Her lineup position later became one of two women following the late addition of documentary "Neza", co-directed by Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham. El-Toukhy's own film, a psychological thriller set in Denmark in 1945 shortly after the German occupation, follows a woman hiding her wartime relationship with a German soldier as she prepares to marry her employer; the director noted it also touches on the historical invisibility of women. "Woman Unknown" is her third feature, produced by Nordisk Film Production with TrustNordisk handling sales, and premieres in competition at the Lido on Sunday, with el-Toukhy saying that simply being selected already felt like a win after a gruelling year-long production.