TrustNordisk Unveils Sales and Teaser for May el-Toukhy's 'Woman Unknown' Ahead of Venice Premiere
Sales agent TrustNordisk has locked down a fresh wave of international deals and dropped a teaser trailer for Woman Unknown, the post-World War Two psychological drama from Danish director May el-Toukhy, days ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival on 6 September 2026. Deadline
New territories closed ahead of the premiere include Benelux (September Films), Latin America (California Filmes), Greece (Neo Films) and the Baltics (Estin Film), joining a previously announced sale to Italy's Lucky Red. That is a strong pre-premiere footprint for a film with no festival audiences yet — the kind of deal momentum that sales agents work the year-round festival circuit to build. TrustNordisk's managing director Susan Wendt called the run-up "an amazing ride" in terms of festival interest and the distributor group assembled.
The film stars rising Danish actress Mathilde Arcel — known from Second Victims — as Marie, a young nanny and housemaid about to marry her wealthy, widowed, older employer Christian, played by Carsten Bjørnlund. The setting is Denmark in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, during the country's liberation, when women who fraternised with German soldiers were tracked down and publicly shamed. Marie's secret past threatens to surface and upend the new life she is trying to build.
The cast also includes Thorbjørn Hedegaard as a dangerous, obsessive figure from Marie's past, and Marina Bouras as the household's all-seeing housekeeper. TrustNordisk describes the film as a suspenseful and sophisticated psychological drama.
El-Toukhy is one of just two female directors competing for the Golden Lion, Venice's top prize, in the Venezia 83 Competition — an international selection of up to 21 world-premiere feature films, according to La Biennale's official site. Woman Unknown is her third feature, following Long Story Short and Queen of Hearts, and continues her co-writing partnership with screenwriter Maren Louise Käehne.
After Venice, the film moves quickly through the autumn festival circuit. It travels to Toronto for its North American premiere in the Centrepiece sidebar, then plays in competition at the BFI London Film Festival, followed by the Riga International Film Festival. A press and industry screening is set for 6 September at 08:30 in Venice's Sala Darsena.
Mikael Rieks, whose credits include Land of Mine, produces for Nordisk Film Production A/S, in co-production with Nafta Films, Nordisk Film Production Sweden and Film i Väst. The project drew support from a broad consortium including the Danish Film Institute, Eurimages, the Swedish Film Institute, DR, SVT and the Riga Film Fund, among others. Nordisk Film Distribution will release the film domestically in Denmark on 4 February 2027.
TrustNordisk's line-up page lists the film at 121 minutes.
