# Woman Unknown wins Venice film festival as NAZA takes special jury prize

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/woman-unknown-wins-venice-film-festival-as-naza-takes-special-jury-prize/
- Published: 2026-09-13T08:37:04+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-13T14:42:51+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/12/woman-unknown-wins-venice-film-festival-as-naza-takes-special-jury-prize
- Topics: Culture, Middle East, World

## Key points

- Woman Unknown wins Golden Lion; director El-Toukhy is festival's eighth female winner
- Gaza documentary NAZA takes special jury prize amid Israeli military denial
- DAU's Silver Lion win stirred controversy over its Russia-linked star and funding

## Summary

May el-Toukhy's Woman Unknown has won the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival, making her the eighth female director to take the top prize, while the special jury prize went to NAZA, a Guardian-produced documentary examining Israel's AI-assisted killing of civilians in Gaza. The ceremony also honoured Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love with the runner-up grand jury prize, Ilya Khrzhanovsky's DAU with the Silver Lion for best director, and John Malkovich with the best actor Volpi Cup for his role in Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse, rounding out a lineup that mixed acclaimed newcomers with politically contentious entries.

Woman Unknown, set just after Danish liberation from Nazi occupation, follows a housemaid hiding a wartime relationship with a German soldier; its star Mathilde Arcel also won the best actress Volpi Cup, an unusual double that jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal said reflected a unanimous vote. NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and based on testimony from 24 anonymous Israeli military insiders, takes its title from a military acronym predicting expected civilian deaths in Gaza airstrikes; the Israeli military "categorically denied" its allegations after the premiere. DAU's inclusion drew criticism from Ukraine over lead actor Teodor Currentzis's refusal to condemn the invasion and past funding from a since-sanctioned Russian businessman, though Khrzhanovsky said he wished only for Ukraine's success and peace.

## Coverage

- [The Guardian: Woman Unknown wins Venice film festival as NAZA takes special jury prize](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/12/woman-unknown-wins-venice-film-festival-as-naza-takes-special-jury-prize)
- [Deadline: ‘NAZA’ Review: Israeli Military Accused Of Depraved Indifference To Palestinian Life, Using AI To Kill In Gaza – Venice Film Festival](https://deadline.com/2026/09/naza-review-venice-film-festival-1237100430/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.