Gaza documentary by Israeli directors wins special prize at Venice

The top prize went to Danish filmmaker May el Toukhy’s post-war drama Woman Unknown, with its star Mathilde Arcel also taking best actress honours in a rare double victory. Receiving the award for the Gaza documentary, Abraham said over the 10 days since the festival began, “Israel killed six Palestinian children in Gaza”.

“The Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with talked to us how this mass killing is systemic: not by accident, but by design, actions of murder and policies that are based on the total dehumanisation of Palestinians,” he.

The special jury prize is given out every year by the jury to recognise an outstanding work, but it is below the Golden and Silver Lions in the pecking order. Abraham and Szor used conversations with 24 Israeli military or intelligence whistleblowers who spoke on condition that their identities be protected.

The 80-minute film left many audience members stunned, with interviewees describing how they felt like they worked in a killing “factory” or a lethal video game while using Israel’s AI-powered targeting systems to bombard Gaza. It was described as an “urgent, gut-punch” by magazine Screen, while The Hollywood Reporter said it inspired “outrage… indignity as well.

Most certainly disgust, on a profound level, for the current Israeli regime”. Abraham said it was “really, really, especially important for us that Israelis watch this film”. “It’s our country that is doing these crimes,” he said.

Woman Unknown wins top prize. El Toukhy, who directed Woman Unknown, was the only woman directing a feature film in the main, 21-strong movie line-up, a disparity that drew criticism during the festival and prompted renewed scrutiny of the barriers facing women in cinema.

Set in the aftermath of World War Two, Woman Unknown follows a housemaid played by Arcel whose past relationship with a German soldier threatens to destroy her future. The film unfolds against the backdrop of a newly liberated Denmark, where women accused of fraternising with occupying German forces were often subjected to vigilante justice.

“To me personally, Woman Unknown is about the female body as a battleground and a public matter. And at the same time, the film tells the tale of women who are invisible, unseen, and voiceless,” El Toukhy said in her acceptance speech.

Russian-born filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovsky won best director for DAU, an ambitious project shot largely in Ukraine before the ongoing war that has attracted intense scrutiny and controversy. Khrzhanovsky, who has renounced his Russian citizenship and is a fierce critic of Moscow, dedicated his prize to Ukraine.

Malkovich named best actor. John Malkovich was named best actor for his performance as an aging, maverick CIA agent in Martin Mc. Donagh’s razor-sharp comedy Wild Horse Nine.

“I am humbled to be chosen for this award which has been given to so many wonderful actors,” said Malkovich, speaking via a videolink from Canada. The Venice festival marks the start of the awards season and regularly throws up big favourites for the Oscars.

However, many of the big studio-backed contenders that once crowded the Venice schedule were absent this year as Hollywood reconsiders how to market its movies and cut costs.