Danish film takes Venice Golden Lion after 71 years

The Danish film Kvinde ukendt has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, 71 years after Denmark last received the award, DR reported. The film also won a second major prize, with lead actor Mathilde Arcel receiving the Coppa Volpi for best actress.

Director May el-Toukhy accepted the festival’s top prize on Saturday evening. Mikael Rieks, who produced the film for Nordisk Film, said the team had suspected that an honour might be possible when it was asked to fly to Venice late on Friday, but had not expected two awards.

It is the first time a Danish female director has won the Golden Lion and only the second time a Danish director has received the award. The previous Danish winner was Carl Th. Dreyer, who won in 1955 for Ordet.

Rieks described the result as historic and said the jury’s decision to give the film two major awards was unusual. Under the festival’s rules, a film can normally receive only one award, although the jury may unanimously grant an additional prize to a Golden Lion winner.

Kvinde ukendt focuses on a group of women after the occupation. The film follows Marie, a young nanny and maid who is preparing to marry Christian, the wealthy older widower she works for. Marie is hiding a shameful secret: during the Second World War, she had an intimate relationship with a German soldier. As her past threatens to catch up with her, she struggles to preserve her new status as a member of the household elite in the chaos of the postwar period.

The film was the only one of 21 entries in the main competition directed solely by a woman. Israeli director Rachel Szor was also represented as co-director of the documentary NAZA, which she made with Yuval Abraham.

Questions about representation were prominent at the festival. In her acceptance speech, el-Toukhy thanked jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal for speaking out about the lack of equal opportunities for female filmmakers.

Rieks said the debate was reflected in el-Toukhy’s film, which deals with women’s voices throughout history and with women being subjected to taboo, stigma and silence. He said the film also formed part of a broader debate about equality in the film industry.

At a press conference after the ceremony, Gyllenhaal rejected the idea that the jury had primarily sought to send a political message. According to Variety, she said the decision was first and foremost based on the quality of a beautifully made film.