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Official awards of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival have been announced and “Woman Unknown”, directed by May el-Toukhy (Denmark, Sweden, Latvia) won the Golden Lion award. According to the report of Mansour Jahani, an independent and international film journalist, at the closing ceremony of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival took place at 7:00 PM on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the Sala Grande cinema within the Palazzo del Cinema on Venice's Lido; winners across various competition categories including the Main Competition, Orizzonti, Immersive, and Orizzonti Extra were announced, and the prestigious Golden Lion for Best Film, the Silver Lion, and other awards were presented to the honorees.

The winners of the International Competition

The International Jury for the main Competition of the 82nd Venice Film Festival, consisted of 7 international film personalities including; the American director, actress, screenwriter and producer Maggie Gyllenhaal - President of the Jury, the Tunisian director and screenwriter Kaouther Ben Hania, the English composer and artist Daniel Blumberg, the Italian professor Francesco Casetti; the French director and screenwriter Xavier Giannoli, the Afghan director and screenwriter Shahrbanoo Sadat and the Hong Kong director and producer Johnnie To, having viewed all 21 films in competition, announced their opinions as follows:

Golden Lion award
Golden Lion for Best Film, to: “Woman Unknown” directed by May el-Toukhy a joint production of the Denmark, Sweden and Latvia

Grand Jury Prize
Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize to: “Possible love” directed by Lee Chang-dong, South Korea

Best Director
Silver Lion for Best Director to: Ilya Khrzhanovsky for the film “Dau” a joint production of the Germany, France and Sweden

Best Actress
Coppa Volpi for Best Actress to: Mathilde Arcel in the film “Woman Unknown” by May el-Toukhy a joint production of the Denmark, Sweden and Latvia

Best Actor
Coppa Volpi for Best Actor to: John Malkovich in the film “Wild Horse Nine” by Martin McDonagh a joint production of the UK, USA and Chile

Best Screenplay
Award for Best Screenplay to: Stéphane Brizé, Coralie Amédéo and Olivier Gorce for the film “Un bon petit soldat” by Stéphane Brizé, France

Special Jury Prize
Special Jury Prize to: “NAZA” directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, UK

“Marcello Mastroianni” Award
“Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best Young Actor or Actress to: Malou Khebizi in the film “15/18 A Place to Heal” by Cédric Kahn, France

The winners of the Orizzonti Competition
The international jury of Orizzonti included Chaired by French actress and director Valérie Donzelli and composed of German actor Peter Becker, Hong Kong director Elizabeth Lo, Mexican director and editor David Pablos, and Italian television actress Barbara Ronchi, after screening the 19 feature-length films and 13 short films in competition has decided to award:

Best Film
Orizzonti Award for Best Film to: “Diane in the Loop” directed by Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni a joint production of the Belgium and France

Best Director
Orizzonti Award for Best Director to: Jacqueline Lentzou for the film “A day in the life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra”, India

Special Orizzonti Jury Prize
Special Orizzonti Jury Prize to: “House of the Wind” directed by Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu a joint production of the Cameroon, France, Belgium, Benin, Saudi Arabia and Qatar

Best Actress
Orizzonti Award for Best Actress to: Laleh Marzban in the film “Falling House” by Mohsen Gharaei a joint production of the Iran, United States and Germany

Best Actor
Orizzonti Award for Best Actor to: Riccardo Scamarcio in the film “Children of the Monkey” by Tommaso Landucci, Italy

Best Screenplay
Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay to: Tommaso Landucci and Damiano Femfert for the film “Children of the Monkey” by Tommaso Landucci, Italy

Best Short Film
Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film to: “A Few Moments of Happiness” directed by Shaden Safieddine Tazi a joint production of the France, United Kingdom and Lebanon

Venice Award for a Debut Film

The international jury of the “Luigi De Laurentiis” for the First Films competition comprising Chaired by Italian filmmaker Carolina Cavalli and comprised of British-Nigerian filmmaker and writer Akinola Davies Jr, and American producer Ted Hope, has decided to award:

Luigi De Laurentiis Venice Award

Lion of the feature “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film to: “House of the Wind” directed by Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu a joint production of the Cameroon, France, Belgium, Benin, Saudi Arabia and Qatar
As of 2026, the winner receives a cash prize of $100,000 USD, which is divided equally between the director and the producer.

Venezia Spotlight Award
The Armani Beauty Audience Award to: “I Matter” directed by Alina Șerban a joint production of the Romania, Germany, Belgium

Venice Classics Award

The Venice Classics Jury, chaired by Italian director and screenwriter Daniele Vicari and comprised of 24 students of Cinema, chosen from the professors of Italian University Cinema programmes, has decided to award:

Best Restored Film
Venice Classics Award for Best Restored Film to:
“Long Night of 1943” directed by Florestano Vancini, (Italy, 1960)

Venice Immersive
The Venice Immersive Jury, chaired by Canadian director Paul Raphaël and comprised of French director Négar Motevalymeidanshah and Belgian director Kate Voet, after viewing the 30 projects in competition has decided to award:

Grand Prize
Venice Immersive Grand Prize to: “The Pigeon Ring” Co-directed by Shixin Tao and Yuqi Zhang, China

Special Prize
Venice Immersive Special Prize to: “Out of the Ashes” Co-directed by Rory Mitchell and Nonny De La Peña, USA

Achievement Prize
Venice Immersive Achievement Prize to: “Empire at Sea” directed by Peter Flaherty, USA.

The 83rd Venice International Film Festival the world's oldest cinematic event was held from September 2 to 12, 2026, on Lido Island in Venice, Italy. Presided over by Alberto Barbera, the festival showcased works by directors from around the globe across various competitive sections including the Main Competition, Orizzonti Competition, Immersive Competition, and Critics' Week as well as the out of competition; such as Special Screenings, Orizzonti Extra, Venice Classics, College Cinema, Best of Experiences, Best of the World, and Masterclasses and Conversations with Film Personalities.

Credit image from the website of the Venice Film Festival

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