83Venice Film Festival Awards

The Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival was awarded to the only film in competition directed by a female filmmaker: Danish-Egyptian director May el-Touchy’s Woman UnKnown. This stylish portrayal of post-World War II Denmark centers on a maid whose past during the Nazi occupation threatens to unravel her future. The film raises significant awareness about the plight of women in a bygone era, depicting a time when women went largely invisible and unseen. Leading actress Mathilde Arcel garnered the Best Actress award for her compelling portrayal of the maid.

A remarkable film, Woman UnKnown is both elegant and engrossing. El-Touchy displays an impeccable understanding of storytelling, drama, and narrative, weaving together numerous unexpected turns and developments.

The Special Jury Prize went to Naza, one of the festival's most anticipated films, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the co-directors behind the Oscar-winning film No Other Land.

This gripping documentary features 24 interviews with Israeli intelligence members and soldiers, revealing chilling testimonies about plans to devastate Gaza following the events of October 7. The United Nations has described these actions, orchestrated by Benjamin Netanyahu, as genocidal.

The film's title, Naza, is an acronym used by the Israeli military to denote civilian casualties. It presents testimony from 24 Israeli military officers detailing the systems and protocols they allege Israel employs to target and kill civilians in Gaza. The interviews, filmed at night on rooftops, feature altered faces and voices to protect the anonymity of the interviewees. Abraham listens intently, posing questions as reflections of life in Tel Aviv flicker in the distant windows of nearby buildings. Televisions broadcast propaganda images of Netanyahu while families dine and others relax on sofas. Below, the city hums with bustling cafes and traffic flowing along the seafront.

The coldness of these testimonies is shocking, informative, and emotionally gripping, leaving the audience in profound silence regarding our shared complicity. It speaks to our collective responsibility. Naza is a film that will linger in your thoughts long after viewing.

Best Director honors went to Russian filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovsky for Dao. This German-French-Swedish co-production, inspired by the Soviet physicists who developed the atomic bomb, chronicles decades of life within a high-security research institute. The narrative focuses on Dao, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Lev Landau, who is coerced by the KGB into developing nuclear weapons. The film navigates themes of fear and betrayal, illustrating how scientific progress is corrupted under the weight of coercive authoritarian violence. A monumental undertaking, it took the director 20 years of research. Blending realism with a surreal atmosphere, Khrzhanovsky demonstrates a distinctive ability to ground his camera in bleakness while creating a deeply surreal, dreamlike visual rhythm. The film fundamentally serves as a denunciation, an uncompromising indictment of both Soviet totalitarianism and the moral degradation it inflicted on society.

Among the other awards, John Malkovich won Best Actor for his performance in Wild Horse Nine, a dark comedy directed by Martin McDonagh. Set in 1973, just before the coup against Allende, the film follows two CIA agents dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island. Surrounded by the island's giant stone statues, their mission becomes increasingly complicated. The older agent, Chris, diagnosed with cancer, harbors a troubling secret: he knows too much, including details about the assassination of Kennedy. His superior, played by Steve Buscemi, fears he might disclose sensitive information, especially as he begins to reveal plans for September 11 to two charming students. Malkovich shines in the role of the absent-minded old man who seems to let vital information slip, while Rockwell perfectly embodies the friend trying to mitigate his outbursts. McDonagh, who penned the screenplay, artfully critiques not only the misdeeds of the CIA but also the imperialist and racist spirit of America, employing abundant irony.

At the press conference for The Wild Horse 9, Martin McDonagh elaborated on his inherently political film. “I like questioning what we are told we have to accept,” he stated. “I’ve been very interested in the truth of what the CIA has been doing over the last 60 years, and the awful things they’ve done all around the world. I think that’s something that’s not talked about enough. We know what the KGB is like, but we probably don’t question the CIA’s activity as much as we ought to.”

Best Script was awarded to Stéphane Brizé for A Good Little Soldier (Un Petit Soldat), which focuses on the modern workplace. Carla, a brilliant 43-year-old business executive, compensates for deep-seated personal insecurities by immersing herself in her work, often at the expense of her relationship with her young son. Hired as the HR Manager at Amali, a major corporate insurance firm, she is tasked with improving employee well-being and spearheading an inclusive rebranding campaign while simultaneously meeting demanding profit targets set by the CEO (Vincent Lindon). Caught between doublespeak and reality, she uncovers severe workplace harassment and toxic management within the firm. This sharp modern dark comedy effectively captures the relatable burnout and code-switching experienced by individuals navigating the pressures of corporate demands and personal life. Brizé excels at eliciting authentic performances from his cast, transforming a quiet, slow-burn drama into a captivating character study of the dark dynamics within large corporations.

Venice tackled global politics this year, addressing issues from Murdoch to Musk, the CIA to the KGB, and conflicts in Chile to Gaza. This edition of the festival stands as its most politically charged to date.

Naza, a documentary that delves into the Israeli military’s targeted killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, resonates with the festival's political tone. Last year, Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab made waves. During Naza’s premiere in the Sala Grande, the Palestinian flag was prominently displayed, and the film received a remarkable 24-minute standing ovation. Earlier in the festival, Susan Sarandon, at the press conference for Andrea Pallaoro’s beautiful film The Echo Chamber, expressed her support for Palestine, revealing that she continues to lose roles for speaking out about Gaza.

This year feels distinctly different. Politics, rather than awards campaigns, have taken center stage. The 83rd edition of Venice was filled with films that scrutinized right-wing media moguls, the crackdown on immigration, and the conflicts in Gaza, Iran, and Russia, while also addressing the abuses of capitalism and the rise of authoritarianism.