Cohen Media Group Picks Up U.S. Rights to Venice Golden Lion Winner Woman Unknown

Cohen Media Group has bought U.S. distribution rights to Woman Unknown, the Danish film that won the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival. Deadline reported the deal as an exclusive on 11 November 2026, and it closed at the American Film Market, the trade event where films are bought and sold before they reach cinemas.

Distribution rights decide who puts a film in front of audiences in a given country. Owning the U.S. rights means Cohen will handle the film's release across the United States and Canada, the territory the industry calls domestic. Deadline reported that Robert Aaronson of Cohen Media Group negotiated the acquisition with Susan Wendt of TrustNordisk, the company handling international sales for the film.

International sales means selling a film to buyers in other countries, one territory at a time. That makes TrustNordisk the seller and Cohen the buyer for the American market.

The film was directed by Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy. At Venice, the Golden Lion went to the film itself, and the Volpi Cup, the festival's prize for acting, went to Mathilde Arcel for Best Actress. Those two honours carry weight on the festival circuit, and they often shape how buyers approach a title.

Denmark has also chosen Woman Unknown as its official entry for Best International Feature Film, the Academy Awards category for movies that are not primarily in English. Being picked as a country's submission is a separate step from winning a festival prize, and it does not by itself guarantee a nomination.

For a festival film, the path from a Venice premiere to an American cinema is usually long. A prize brings buyers to the table, a sale at a market such as the AFM turns that interest into a contract, and the distributor then chooses a release date and campaign. This deal moves the film to the second stage. The next public step will be the release plan from Cohen Media Group.