Woman Unknown, directed by Danish filmmaker of Egyptian origin May el-Toukhy, won the Golden Lion at the 83rd Venice Film Festival. The film also received the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for Mathilde Arcel, in a competition marked by a high level of quality and the presence of several of the year’s most anticipated films.

The international jury, chaired by Maggie Gyllenhaal, awarded the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize to Possible Love, by Lee Chang-dong, which had previously received the FIPRESCI Prize. The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Ilya Khrzhanovsky for Dau, a film the director described as the result of a project developed over 20 years.

The Special Jury Prize went to NAZA, the documentary by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor about the mechanisms behind the mass killings of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Produced by The Guardian, the film was added to the competition at the last minute and has already faced calls for a boycott following its premiere.

The award for Best Screenplay went to Un bon petit soldat, directed by Stéphane Brizé and co-written with Coralie Amédéo and Olivier Gorce. The Volpi Cup for Best Actor went to John Malkovich for Wild Horse Nine, directed by Martin McDonagh, while the Marcello Mastroianni Award for a young emerging performer was given to Malou Khebizi for 15/18, directed by Cédric Kahn.

In Orizzonti, the award for Best Film went to Un détour par Diane, by Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni. The Best Director award went to Jacqueline Lentzou for A Day in the Life of Joe: Chapter Phaedra, while La Maison du vent, by Cameroonian debut filmmaker Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu, received both the Special Jury Prize and the Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film. The director dedicated both awards to the many women murdered by their husbands in Cameroon.