Danish film Woman Unknown has been selected for the main competition of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it will have its world premiere and compete for the Golden Lion. Directed by Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy, the historical drama is one of 20 titles included in the festival’s most prestigious section.
The festival will take place at the Venice Lido from 2 to 12 September 2026.
Woman Unknown enters the race for the Golden Lion
The film, whose original Danish title is Kvinde, Ukendt, is a co-production between Denmark, Sweden and Latvia. It stars Mathilde Arcel as Marie and Carsten Bjørnlund as Christian, alongside Thorbjørn Hedegaard, Marina Bouras, Mia Plantin, Sofia Nolsøe and Flora Sanders.
Set during the unstable period following the Second World War, Woman Unknown follows Marie, a young nanny and housekeeper who is preparing to marry Christian, the wealthy older widower who employs her.
The marriage would offer Marie social security and a new position as the head of the household. However, she is hiding an intimate relationship she had with a German soldier during the war. As her past begins to resurface, Marie must protect the status and identity she has built in post-war Danish society.
The screenplay was written by el-Toukhy together with Maren Louise Käehne. The pair previously collaborated on some of the director’s best-known films.
May el-Toukhy returns to international competition
The selection marks another major international appearance for May el-Toukhy, who made her feature-film debut with Long Story Short (Lang historie kort) in 2015.
Her second feature, Queen of Hearts (Dronningen), won the World Cinema Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019 and three awards at the Göteborg Film Festival. It later received the Nordic Council Film Prize and was chosen as Denmark’s submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Like Queen of Hearts, her new film examines power, social position and the moral choices made by a woman whose carefully constructed life is threatened by an emerging secret.
El-Toukhy is also the only woman directing a film in the 2026 Venice main competition, according to the programme announced by the festival. The other selected filmmakers include Danny Boyle, Werner Herzog, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Martin McDonagh and Nanni Moretti.
Danish cinema returns to Venice’s main stage
The Venice selection gives Danish cinema a place in one of the most closely followed competitions of the international film calendar. The festival often serves as a launch platform for European productions seeking wider distribution and recognition during the awards season.
Woman Unknown will compete before an international jury chaired by US actor and filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal. The jury will award the Golden Lion and the other official prizes at the end of the festival on 12 September.
The film is expected to reach Danish cinemas on 4 February 2027, following its world premiere in Venice. Its selection continues the strong international trajectory of el-Toukhy’s work while bringing a Danish story about the social aftermath of the Second World War to a global audience.
