WINNERS OF THE 2026 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

The 83rd annual Venice Film Festival has come to a close and awards were presented. The jury, lead by Maggie Gyllenhaal this year, selected "Kvinde ukendt (Woman Unknown)" from filmmaker, May El-Toukhy. This drama is set in Denmark, not long after World War II, where a young nanny prepares to marry her wealthy, older employer while keeping a secret. The film's star, Mathilde Arcel went on to receive the Best Actress prize for her moving performance. The latest from director, Lee Chang-Dong, "Possible Love" won the runner-up award of the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize. The South Korean film tells the story of two married couples who cross paths to film a documentary while facing their different lives and hidden desires. The Best Screenplay award went to director, Stéphane Brizé, along with co-writers, Coralie Amédéo and Olivier Gorce, for the French drama, "Un bon petit soldat (A Good Little Soldier)" which follows a middle-aged female executive (Alba Rohrwacher) hired to help rebrand a business in a tough corporate environment. And John Malkovich won Best Actor for his performance in "Wild Horse Nine", Martin McDonagh's latest comedy-thriller, which was one of the very few American films playing in competition.

Here are the winners in the main competition of the 2026 Venice Film Festival:

Golden Lion: "Kvinde ukendt (Woman Unknown)"

Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize: "가능한 사랑 (Possible Love)"



Silver Lion Best Director: Ilya Khrzhanovsky, "Dau"

Best Screenplay: Stéphane Brizé, Coralie Amédéo and Olivier Gorce, "Un bon petit soldat (A Good Little Soldier)"



Best Actor: John Malkovich, "Wild Horse Nine"
Best Actress: Mathilde Arcel, "Kvinde ukendt (Woman Unknown)"
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress: Malou Khebizi, "15/18 (A Place to Heal)"
Lion of the Future (Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Feature Film): Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu, "La maison du vent (House of the Wind)"



Special Jury Prize: "Naza"

2026 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

The Venice International Film Festival, with the eighty-third annual edition to be held from September 2nd to 12th, will help introduce the latest in world cinema and kick-off the fall movie season. The Opening Night film selected is "Ink", the latest from the Oscar-winning British filmmaker, Danny Boyle. Based on James Graham's acclaimed 2017 play, the film examines how Australian businessman, Rupert Murdoch (Guy Pearce) lures the editor of the popular, The Daily Mail newspaper, Larry Lamb (Jack O’Connell) to oversee his newly acquired British daily, The Sun. To gain attention for the struggling paper, they decide to put anything in the paper, regardless of how extreme or titillating, to help The Sun rise above the competition, helping to create tabloid culture.



Maggie Gyllenhaal, the American actress and filmmaker, will serve as this year's Jury President to select the winners of the Main Competition awards along with fellow jurors: Tunisian filmmaker, Kaouther Ben Hania, British musician, Daniel Blumberg, Italian-American film theorist, Francesco Casetti, French filmmaker, Xavier Giannoli, Afghan filmmaker, Shahrbanoo Sadat and Hong Kong filmmaker, Johnnie To. Gyllenhaal will also premiere the short film she wrote and directed, "Flesh Impact", that features Ellen Burstyn (who is also this year's recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement) and Dakota Johnson which will pay tribute to Hollywood legend, Marilyn Monroe (who would have celebrated her 100th birthday this year) during the festival.

With the films selected for competition this year, what is most notable is the almost complete absence of Hollywood studio films present in the lineup, much like at Cannes a few months ago. In addition to Boyle's "Ink", other filmmakers who will be up for prizes include new works from Werner Herzog ("Bucking Fastard"), Lance Oppenheim ("Primetime"), Cedric Kahn ("A Place To Heal"), Lee Chang-dong ("가능한 사랑 (Possible Love)"), Nanni Moretti ("Succederà questa notte (It Will Happen Tonight)"), Martin McDonagh ("Wild Horse Nine"), Hirokazu Kore-eda ("ルックバック (Look Back)", Stéphane Brizé ("Un bon petit soldat (Good Little Soldier)"), Florian Zeller ("Bunker") and Casey Affleck ("Company").









The Closing Night film will be "Dio Ride (God Laughs)", a comedy from writer/director, Giovanni Veronesi. In seventeenth century Tuscany, a friar (Pierfrancesco Favino) engages the masses about God by making them laugh. But this attitude begins to attract the hostility of the Church.

The Glory to the Filmmaker Award, a honorary prize given to artists who have made a significant contribution to contemporary world cinema, will be presented to Italian filmmaker, Luca Guadagnino. His latest feature, "Joie de vivre", an over 7 hours long documentary (that will be screened into two parts) about the life, art, and cinema of fellow Italian filmmaker, Bernardo Bertolucci, will make its premiere at the fest. And George Clooney will also receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement this year.