Venice Film Fest Judge Maggie Gyllenhaal Whined About Lack of Female Directors. Now She Doesn’t Want to Talk About Top Prize Going to Competition’s Only Female Director

The Venice Film Festival awarded its top prize on Saturday to a Danish-made drama about a woman trying to hide a wartime relationship with a Nazi — the only feature film with a female director in the competition.

“Woman Unknown” 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 director in the event.

Only one other woman — Israel’s Rachel Szor, co-director of the chilling documentary “NAZA” about Israel’s war on Gaza — was behind the 21 films vying for prizes at the star-studded closing ceremony in Venice.

“‘Woman Unknown’ is about the female body as a battleground and a public matter. And at the same time, the film tells the tale of women who are invisible, unseen and voiceless,” el-Toukhy told the ceremony.

Danish director May el-Toukhy receives the Golden Lion for the Best Film Award for Kvinde Ukendt (Woman Unknown) at the Venice International Film Festival 2026, Award Ceremony, Venice, September 12th, 2026 (Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

The head of this year’s jury, American actor-director Maggie Gyllenhaal, had questioned the dearth of…

Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/