THE 83RD VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PRIZES AND WINNERS
words by TIANA DE HASETH
Up to seven jury figures from the world of cinema gathered to award eight prizes for the feature films of Venice Festival’s main competition. Venice Film Festival being known for their tradition of long ovations, had its record broken this year with 25-minute ovation, making this year’s winners unforgettable.
image via REUTERS
GOLDEN LION - WOMAN UNKNOWN directed by May el-Toukhy
Woman lead film Woman Unknown got to take home the Golden Lion award by Danish-Egyptian director May el-Toukhy. The story explores the female body and how women’s sexual behaviour was seen as violation after the World War II. For Toukhy, it was important to show how women suffered sexually by men as an aftermath of the World War II, further highlighting the invisible and the voiceless women in post-war society.
SILVER LION GRAN JURY PRIZE - POSSIBLE LOVE directed by Lee Chang-dong
Winning the runner-up best film was Possible Love by Korean director, Lee Chang-dong. After hesitating if he should create a film on the South Korean 2009 mass layoffs and police crackdown, he decided to remain hopeful towards freedom, and made a movie on how love and human connection can survive during economic inequality.
BEST DIRECTOR - ILYA KHRZHANOVSKY for DAU
After twenty years of hard work and filming, Ilya Khrzhanovsky got rewarded as the best director for his film DAU. Inspired by the human capacity to love and be free amidst the turbulence of a totalitarian system, Khrzhanovsky created a film about a Greek physicist from 1928 who finds a way to reshape himself after losing his capacity to love, while serving to help create deadly weapons.
BEST ACTRESS - MATHILDE ARCEL for Woman Unknown
Mathilde Arcel wins the award for best actress for her performance in Woman Unknown, making that the second award the Danish film receives. This marks the first Danish victory in the main competition after 17-years.
BEST ACTOR - JOHN MALKOVICH for Wild Horse Nine
72-year old John Malkovich won best actor for his role as a CIA officer in Wild Horse Nine, with a 13-minute standing ovation.
BEST SCREENPLAY - STÉPHANE BRIZÉ, CORALIE AMEDEO and OLIVIER GORCE for A Good Little Soldier
Best writing award went to Director Stéphané Brize with his two co-writers Coralie Amédéo and Olivier Gorce for A Good Little Soldier, a film that follows a high performed business executive who faces oppression in the office. For the writers it was important to highlight the system of patriarchy and capitalism in work life.
SPECIAL JURY AWARD - NAZA directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor
Earning a record break of a 25-minute ovation, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor won the special jury award for their film NAZA. Shot in secret on rooftops in Tel Aviv, Abraham and Szor worked on the film for three years while capturing testimonies from the Israeli military and their use of secret AI-powered systems that target and massacre the civilians in Gaza.
BEST EMERGING YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS - MALOU KHEBIZI for A Place To Heal
23-year old Malou Khebizi wins the award for the best emerging actress for he role in A Place To Heal adding another women to the list of winners for the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
