From job centre to Venice winner: Mathilde Arcel takes best actress
Denmark's Mathilde Arcel won the Volpi Cup for best actress at the Venice Film Festival for Woman Unknown, days after signing on at the job centre back home, according to The Guardian. The post-Second World War drama, directed by May el-Toukhy, also won the Golden Lion for best film, the festival's top prize.
Arcel, 30, plays Marie, a young housemaid and nanny in the aftermath of the Nazi occupation of Denmark who is about to marry her widowed industrialist employer. It was her first leading role in a feature film.
Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal said the jury vote for Arcel was unanimous. John Malkovich took the male Volpi Cup, the festival's best actor prize. Woman Unknown competed as the lone female contender for the top prize, Reuters reported.
Arcel said she lives on unemployment benefits when she is not working on films. She flew back to Denmark after the Woman Unknown premiere to sign on at the job centre, then returned to the Lido, the island that hosts the festival, for the awards gala.
She told Danish broadcaster DR her agent had received several calls with new job offers and interest from abroad since the win. Her wish list is modest. She said she would like a part in Midsomer Murders, the long-running British TV detective drama.
The wider festival drew a large crowd. The 83rd Venice International Film Festival sold 117,656 tickets, up 14% on 2025, with the official awards announced by five international juries at a ceremony on 12 September at 7:00 pm, according to La Biennale.
Giovanni Veronesi's Dio ride was the closing film, with its world premiere in the Palazzo del Cinema after the awards ceremony. The industry sidebar, the Venice Production Bridge, hosted 3,000 accredited attendees. Actress Serena Rossi received the 2026 Campari Passion for Film Award on 10 September at 9:30 pm, before the out-of-competition screening of Scherzetto by Mario Martone.
Luca Guadagnino received the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker 2026 Award on 8 September before the screening of his documentary Joie de vivre. George Clooney received the first Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement on 2 September during the opening ceremony. Ellen Burstyn received the second on 7 September at 2:30 pm in the Palazzo del Cinema.
