In Woman Unknown, the one Nordic entry at the 2026 Venice film festival competition, director May el-Toukhy explores a dark part of the 1945 liberation, starring a new, mysterious face.
“That thing... Sitting there, watching yourself, with a full auditorium, and the jury too, and you just sit there, watching every move you make, wondering if the audience understands what the heck is going on up there, on that big, big screen. Quite weird, isn't it?”
Actress Mathilde Arcel doesn't come from nowhere. Being the daughter of actress Nastja Arcel and theatre director Mikael Fock, some natural genes should be in place. Her uncle is Nikolaj Arcel, well-travelled director behind films like King's Game (Kongekabale, 2004) and A Royal Affair (En kongelig affære, 2012). Her acting career started at 13, playing the lead in the TV series Mille (2009), and she finished her education at The Danish National School of Performing Arts in Århus in 2020. She's since been on stage, at times contributing to screenplays and directing, and since 2024 on the screen, notably in Second Victims (Det andet offer, 2025) and Special Unit: The First Murder (Rejseholdet - det første mord, 2025), both of which garnered her national award nominations.
But nothing, for sure, touches what Mathilde Arcel just experienced, sitting there watching herself, wondering if the audience understands, possibly for a moment recalling a letter she once sent, possibly thinking “be careful what you wish for...”.
“The first director I wrote after graduation was May, because I'd seen her work and really wanted to work with her one day.”
“May” is May el-Toukhy and that “one day” is here. On Sunday night September 6, 2026, the Danish film Woman Unknown (Kvinde, ukendt), starring Mathilde Arcel, filling the screen more or less from start to end, committed its official world premiere screening at Sala Grande, entered in main competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
el-Toukhy's second feature Queen of Hearts (Dronningen, 2019) made a mark on the international film map, travelling the world and getting handsome recognition, including the Nordic Council Film Prize, several Bodil and Robert awards domestically, the Audience Award at Sundance, and a French remake in 2023 by Catherine Breillat. It starred, to impressive effect, the distinguished Trine Dyrholm, arguably one the greats of the contemporary European screen.
For her next protagonist, el-Toukhy wanted something completely different.
“It felt important to me to get an 'unknown' for this part, not an actress with an established identity in the broader conscience. Not that Mathilde hasn't done some pretty big things at home, but abroad, she provides an extra layer to the film in that she isn't incredibly well-known. It gives the character a mysticism in that we want to get to know Marie in the film, and at the same time we ask: 'Who is this new young actress, this Mathilde Arcel?', and: ‘What does it mean, those things she's doing with her face?’ Because we don't know that face from before, and this is of great importance.”
Woman Unknown plays out over five bright days in the late spring of 1945. Five dark years of Nazi reign is over, the curfew lights come on over a Denmark “yet again free”, words spoken by Johannes G. Sørensen, reading the news of the German capitulation on the Danish-language BBC service. Euphoria fills the streets of Copenhagen, but also reoccurring acts of vengeance towards collaborators with the occupying force. “Snitches” are liquidated, and German-friendly businesses are attacked. Then there are the women who involved themselves emotionally and/or intimately with the soldiers from the other side. They're paraded on the streets, and have their hair cut off by force. Their story is seldom told; they themselves have chosen to remain anonymous. Marie, played by Mathilde Arcel, is a fictionalised embodiment of one of these “women, unknown” cases, stemming from extensive research by el-Toukhy and her script partner Maren Louise Käenhe. They aimed for a film about World War II that wasn't too “classical”.
“We felt we haven't really explored what it meant to be a woman during the war/postwar period – which really energised me,” el-Toukhy explained at the film's press conference. “But it's been a constant discussion for us, both regarding the script and the visuals, exactly how we create a story set in this time that wouldn't be a period piece.”
The additional cast is made up by experienced names like Carsten Bjørnlund, Marina Bouras and Sofia Nolsøe, together with brand new faces like Thorbjørn Hedegaard and Flora Yde Sander. The visuals are meticulously overseen by director of photography Jasper Spanning and production designer Sabine Hviid.
Main producer is Nordisk Film through Mikael Rieks, who colourfully recounted some on-set challenges.
“May wanted extreme control over visuals and acting. Sometimes we had to stop because there was a curtain in the frame that wasn't hanging exactly straight. Which from my producer's point of view makes the film even more crazy unique! Also, when you build a set, you're worried that it'll look like a set. But from what I can see now, it doesn't at all.”
The main shooting was done in Riga, “standing in” for Copenhagen 1945, with Latvian co-production through Nafta Films. Nordisk Film Sweden is in additional co-production, and Nordisk Film & TV Fond has provided support. TrustNordisk handles the sales in what Rieks recognises as “a very strong package”.
“That said, an international financing process involving a female director is still hard work, even in this day and age. The Nordics are great at it, and the Baltics, which I consider very close to us in mentality and outlook. But as soon as you get outside our regions, it gets frustrating. On home base, though, it's been outstanding. Which a film of this particular character demands and deserves. We've taken a risk, and succeeded.”
Mikael Rieks will soon be moving to Zentropa, where May el-Toukhy soon will be busy realising her own entry into the new and reinvigorated Dogma25 movement, a concept she's been highly instrumental in developing and launching. Although Rieks is not on board on that project, he wouldn't mind a Dogma venture one day.
“If Dogma needs me, I'd love to be along. This new movement just started, I'll have you know, and I'd say there's a lot to look forward to in the times to come.”
Meanwhile, the reviews of Woman Unknown are in, with significant praise in tow, not least for the new and unknown face of Mathilde Arcel. May el-Toukhy has spent part of her interview time reflecting on the fact that she's the one woman director entered in competition at this year's Venice. “Actress unknown, woman alone”, could perhaps be a fitting headline.
“It's ironic how it kind of plays in into the agenda of her film,” says Rieks, who of course attended the world premiere, side by side with his director and – by the look of things – star.
“I've often felt that having your film 'translating' to an audience who doesn't speak Danish can be hard. But here, I experienced how people really connected with May's vision. They'll do their own interpretation, of course, but yesterday, they saw the film we wanted to make.”
Danish writer/director May el-Toukhy’s new film Woman Unknown, premiering in Venice Competition, looks at the aftermath of World War 2 by exploring women’s stories usually erased from history books.
May el-Toukhy’s Woman Unknown is the only film in competition directed by a woman. While the festival, playing 2-12 September, shows a relative scarcity of female directors, most films with Nordic involvement have female creators.
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