Venice 2026 Awards: ‘Woman Unknown’ & ‘Possible Love’ Top Prizes
by Alex Billington
September 12, 2026
Source: La Biennale
Who’s taking the Golden Lion home this year? At the end of it all, we finally have our winners. The 83nd Venice Film Festival wrapped up this weekend on the Lido island in Venice, and awards were handed out at a fancy awards show in the Sala Grande. The top prize at Venice is a Golden Lion (in honor of the iconic lion that is the symbol of the city) and it’s one of the top prizes in cinema along with the Palme d’Or from Cannes (which was given to Cristian Mungiu in May). This year’s winner is the film Woman Unknown, a Danish feature about a woman just after World War II living in Denmark dealing with intense accusations following the war. Just like last year’s oddball pick, this is another entirely unexpected Golden Lion winner – and a film that most critics (even those who like it) agree isn’t really the best film at the fest and shouldn’t have won. Then again, it is the only film in the Venice Competition line-up that is directed by a woman, and the jury was lead by Maggie Gyllenhaal this year. She stated she preferred this film because it hit her like a “laser beam” over others. I think it’s a good film, though not a great film after some other favorites: Possible Love (which did get the second place prize), Wild Horse Nine (which did get Best Actor), Naza (which got a special prize), and Look Back. Tons of great winners this year. View the full list of #Venezia83 przies below.
Main Venice Awards
The jury chaired by actress / director Maggie Gyllenhaal also with Kaouther Ben Hania, Daniel Blumberg, Francesco Casetti, Xavier Giannoli, Shahrbanoo Sadat, Johnnie To, after watching all 21 films, has awarded:
Golden Lion for Best Film:
Woman Unknown (Kvinde Ukendt) by May el-Toukhy
Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize:
Possible Love by Lee Chang-dong
Silver Lion Award for Best Director:
Ilya Khrzhanovsky for the film Dau
Coppa Volpi for Best Actress:
Mathilde Arcel in the film Woman Unknown (Kvinde Ukendt) by May el-Toukhy
Coppa Volpi for Best Actor:
John Malkovich in the film Wild Horse Nine by Martin McDonagh
Award for Best Screenplay:
Stéphane Brizé, Coralie Amedeo, Olivier Gorce for A Good Little Soldier (Un bon petit soldat) also by Stéphane Brizé
Special Jury Prize:
NAZA by Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress:
Malou Khebizi in the film A Place to Heal (15/18) by Cédric Kahn
“Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film:
House of the Wind (La maison du vent) by Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
Armani Beauty Audience Award:
I Matter (Eu contez) by Alina Șerban
Orizzonti Section Awards
The Orizzonti Jury, chaired by filmmaker Valérie Donzelli, and also including Peter Becker, Elizabeth Lo, David Pablos, and Barbara Ronchi, after watching 19 feature films in this competition, awarded these prizes:
Orizzonti Award for Best Film:
Diane in the Loop (Un détour par Diane) by Raphaël Balboni & Ann Sirot
Orizzonti Award for Best Director:
Jacqueline Lentzou for the film A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra (Mia mera sti zoi tis Tzo: Kefalaio Faidra)
Special Orizzonti Jury Prize:
House of the Wind (La maison du vent) by Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
Orizzonti Award for Best Actress:
Laleh Marzban in Falling House (Moragheb) by Mohsen Gharaie
Orizzonti Award for Best Actor:
Riccardo Scamarcio in the film The Children of the Monkey (I figli della scimmia) by Tommaso Landucci
Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay:
Damiano Femfert, Tommaso Landucci for The Children of the Monkey (I figli della scimmia) also by Tommaso Landucci
That’s all for now. For the full list of awards (including a few more), head to labiennale.org. Congratulations to all of the winners this year. I’m mostly fine with everything except the Golden Lion. It should’ve been the other way around – which is exactly the same thought I had about the Cannes Palme d’Or winner this year as well: the best film at the fest got the Grand Prix prize instead of the top prize, and some other political “middle ground” stance film won the main prize instead, almost as if the jury is trying to make a statement and not actually choose the best quality, most cinematically impressive film in the line-up. For the record – I watched Woman Unknown and I definitely don’t think it’s bad but I don’t think it’s that good either. It’s an interesting story but the filmmaking is not interesting in any way. And that’s the main problem. Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love, on the other hand, is an outstandingly complex modern drama that is so dynamic in its storytelling that it really deserved the Golden Lion. I would’ve also been happy with NAZA, a remarkably important doc. I did love John Malkovich in Wild Horse Nine and I’m happy about that pick as well –I think he’s going to go all the way to win the Oscar next year. As always, try to catch any of these films in the cinema. Hopefully they’ll be at another fest near you or be out soon. For more Venice 2026 posts, click here.
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