Venice’s Lone Female Competition Director May el-Toukhy on Gender Gap: “I’ve Never Heard a Female Director Being Called a Genius”
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.
In short
- El-Toukhy highlights Venice's gender imbalance among competition directors
- She says female directors are never called "geniuses" like men
- Her film "Woman Unknown" premieres in competition on Sunday
Explained simply
Venice is one of the major international film festivals, and its competition programme features films vying for top awards. Directors selected for it receive attention from audiences, critics and the film industry, so the make-up of the lineup is often discussed as a sign of who gets opportunities and recognition.
Women have long been under-represented in film directing, including in access to funding, casting and career opportunities. May el-Toukhy is a Danish director whose films include Woman Unknown, a story set in Denmark after the German occupation in the Second World War. Her comments raise questions about how gender affects both the chance to direct and the way directors’ work is described and valued.