Danish director's 'Woman Unknown' is sole female entry in Venice race

Danish-Egyptian filmmaker May el-Toukhy has arrived at the Venice International Film Festival with 'Woman Unknown' ('Kvinde Ukendt'), her first feature since the acclaimed 2019 drama 'Queen of Hearts.' The film, which premiered in competition on Sunday, is the sole female-directed entry in this year's main lineup — a notable drop from last year when six of 21 competing films were directed by women.

El-Toukhy acknowledged the distinction with a mix of pride and concern. "In the first instance, I was delighted, honored, happy to be part of this historic festival," she said. "Then, I've been thinking a lot about it ever since we got the invitation, because obviously I would have loved to have more of my female director colleagues in competition."

She attributed the scarcity to systemic issues rather than individual failings. "I have very hands-on experience, obviously, myself in terms of getting my films made, the budgets I work under," she noted. "I do believe it's a structural problem, but it's also a problem that every one of us in this industry have to work together to solve."

The film's themes mirror this reality. "I joked yesterday at the press meeting that I'm probably the most known, woman unknown right now in Venice," el-Toukhy said. "The film is about the invisibility of women that we, to some extent, are objectified and looked upon and judged and valued, and then on the other hand are unseen and voiceless."

Set in Denmark after liberation from Nazi occupation, the period drama stars Mathilde Arcel as Marie, a young nanny and housemaid preparing to marry Christian, a wealthy older widower for whom she works. Marie hides a wartime secret: an intimate relationship with a German soldier that threatens her new life and social standing.

Arcel described the emotional demands of the role. "I remember my script was scribbled all over with notes and different colors and different levels of paranoia," she said. "When we shot it, I always had to keep track of how scared is she now? And what kind of effect did she just hear?"

El-Toukhy co-wrote the screenplay with Maren Louise Käehne, her collaborator on 'Queen of Hearts.' The Denmark-Sweden-Latvia production is in contention for the Golden Lion. At the premiere, the director used her outfit to reflect the film's tone. "There's quite a lot of blood in the film, but also there's pain in the film," she explained. "It felt right to somehow expose that through my outfit, but in a non-offensive way... still in a fashionable way, or that was my intention at least."

The Venice jury, chaired by American filmmaker and actor Maggie Gyllenhaal, will announce winners as the festival closes on Saturday.