Eurimages, the Council of Europe’s cultural support fund, is celebrating another major international success for European cinema, with Eurimages-supported films winning the Golden Lion and two other major awards at the Venice Film Festival. The Venice honours follow an exceptional run of awards in 2026, including successes at the Academy Awards, European Film Awards, Berlin International Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival.
Kvinde ukendt (“Woman Unknown”) (Denmark, Latvia, Sweden) by May el-Toukhy received the Golden Lion, while Mathilde Arcel was awarded the Best Actress Award for her performance in the same film. Set in post-World War II Denmark, the film revolves around a young woman who, over the course of three days, attempts to escape a carefully suppressed secret and embark on a new life she has created for herself.
In the Orizzonti section, the Grand Prize went to Un Detour Par Diane (in English “Diane in the Loop”) (Belgium, France) by Raphaël Balboni and Ann Sirot. The film tells the story of a young woman obsessed with avenging her mother's rape, while her mother simply wants to forget and move on.
These latest honours extend an exceptional series of international distinctions for Eurimages-supported films in 2026. Since the beginning of the year, supported productions have received the Best European Film Award at the European Film Awards, the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The Golden Lion, which was awarded to the only woman director selected in the Official Competition, alongside the Best Actress Award and the Orizzonti Grand Prize, can now be added from the Lido.
This outstanding succession of awards highlights the quality, diversity and international reach of European cinema supported by Eurimages, and underlines the fund’s contribution to the development and recognition of ambitious international co-productions on the world stage.
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