Venice Film Festival 2026 Winners List: Woman Unknown Wins Golden Lion, John Malkovich Takes Best Actor

The Venice Film Festival 2026 concluded on Saturday with May el-Toukhy's Woman Unknown winning the coveted Golden Lion for Best Film. The 83rd edition also saw John Malkovich and Mathilde Arcel take the Volpi Cups for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, while Possible Love, DAU and NAZA collected major prizes.

Woman Unknown wins Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival

Set in post-World War II Denmark, Woman Unknown follows a maid whose past during the Nazi occupation threatens her future. El-Toukhy, one of only two female directors in competition, thanked the jury after winning the top prize.

"Making films is very collaborative, which requires sacrifices, and so thank you all for helping me tell the story. For me personally, Woman Unknown talks about the woman's body as a battlefield. At the same time, the film tells the story of invisible women who are not and who do not have a voice … Thank you to the jury for this wonderful honour," she said.

Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, while Ilya Khrzhanovsky received Best Director for DAU. NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, won the Special Jury Prize after receiving a 25-minute standing ovation.

John Malkovich, Mathilde Arcel win acting honours

Malkovich won Best Actor for Wild Horse Nine, although he was absent from the ceremony. In a recorded message, he said: "I am really glad to have been chosen for this award, which has been given to many actors. […] Thanks to Martin McDonagh for having written an incredible screenplay and for his exceptional direction and for having given me, in fact, the opportunity to play this fantastic role.”

Arcel won Best Actress for Woman Unknown. "This is my first lead role, and it's the first time I've participated in a film festival, and so I'm really extremely honoured, and I'm really lucky to be here,” she said.

Other major winners

Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love was among the major standouts of the festival, earning the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize. The social drama centres on a struggling working-class family and a wealthy documentarian who chooses them as the subject of her next film. The cast, featuring Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong, drew particular praise from critics. South Korea also selected the film as its submission for the Oscars’ Best International Feature category, and it received the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in Venice.

Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s DAU also marked a significant moment for the Russian filmmaker. The project grew out of an ambitious experiment in Ukraine, where the crew filmed thousands of participants over three years inside a constructed world. The film’s arrival in Venice followed a two-decade, 14-film production.

The complete list of winners from the 83rd Venice International Film Festival follows below.

Venice Film Festival 2026, full winners list

Golden Lion for Best Film: Woman Unknown — May el-Toukhy
Silver Lion, Grand Jury Prize: Possible Love — Lee Chang-dong
Silver Lion for Best Director: Ilya Khrzhanovsky — DAU
Special Jury Prize: NAZA — Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
Best Screenplay: A Good Little Soldier — Stéphane Brizé, Coralie Amédéo, Olivier Gorce
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: John Malkovich — Wild Horse Nine
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Mathilde Arcel — Woman Unknown
Marcello Mastroianni Award: Malou Khebizi — A Place to Heal
Luigi De Laurentiis Award: House of the Wind — Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
Armani Beauty Audience Award: I Matter — Alina Serban
Horizons Best Film: Diane in the Loop — Ann Sirot, Raphaël Balboni
Horizons Best Director: Jacqueline Lentzou — A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra
Horizons Special Jury Prize: House of the Wind — Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
Horizons Best Actor: Riccardo Scamarcio — Children of the Monkey
Horizons Best Actress: Laleh Marzban — Falling House
Horizons Best Screenplay: Children of the Monkey — Tommaso Landucci
Best Short Film: A Few Moments of Happiness — Shaden Safieddine Tazi
Venice Classics Best Restored Film: Long Night of 1943 — Florestano Vancini
Venice Immersive Grand Prize: The Pigeon Ring — Shixin Tao, Yuqi Zhang
Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize: Out of the Ashes — Rory Mitchell, Nonny de la Peña
Venice Immersive Achievement Prize: Empire at Sea — Peter Flaherty
Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement: George Clooney, Ellen Burstyn

With its mix of established filmmakers, breakthrough performances and politically charged cinema, the 83rd Venice Film Festival once again reflected the breadth of contemporary filmmaking. The festival closed with Woman Unknown taking its top honour, while a wide range of films and artists were recognised across its competitive sections.