Film Festival 2026: All the Awards of Venice 83

May el-Toukhy, Golden Lion for Kvinde Ukendt and Mathilde Arcel, Volpi Cup

The final Coffee with Venezia da Vivere at the Festival, with all the awards of Venice 83, the closing ceremony, the red carpet and the prizes of the Venice Film Festival.

The 83rd Venice Film Festival closes with the Golden Lion to May el-Toukhy for Kvinde Ukendt (Woman Unknown). The Danish director, of Egyptian origin, was the only woman director among the films in the main competition. From the final red carpet to the awards ceremony, we have time for one last “coffee” together, to recount the closing ceremony, all the awards of Venice 83, the winners of the main sections and the highlights of the closing evening.

The Final Red Carpet

On the red carpet, which began shortly before 6 PM, the protagonists of the evening paraded. Opening the red carpet were the presenters Greta Scarano and Nicolas Maupas, followed by the jury members of Orizzonti, Venice Immersive and the Venice Opera Prima Award.

In a long black gown came Francesca Michielin, who during the ceremony performed her version of Björk’s “It’s Oh So Quiet”. On the red carpet she lingered at length with the audience, signing autographs, taking photographs and sharing a few jokes with the die-hards who remained at the Lido until the final day.

Then came the turn of the ceremony guests and the first potential award winners.

Among the first to arrive was Cameroonian director Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu, followed by the cast of the Iranian film “Moragheb” by Mohsen Gharaei, in competition in Orizzonti, and by the directors of “NAZA”, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, in Venice 83. With the arrival of the International Jury, the red carpet began to hint at some of the names we would soon see on stage.

The Golden Lion and the Other Awards of Venice 83

The Jury of Venice 83, chaired by Maggie Gyllenhaal, awarded the following prizes to the feature films in competition:

Golden Lion for Best Film: Kvinde Ukendt (Woman Unknown) by May el-Toukhy
Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize: Ga-neung-han Sa-rang (Possible Love) by Lee Chang-dong
Silver Lion – Best Director Award: Ilya Khrzhanovsky for DAU
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Mathilde Arcel for Kvinde Ukendt (Woman Unknown) by May el-Toukhy
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: John Malkovich for Wild Horse Nine by Martin McDonagh
Special Jury Prize: NAZA by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor
Best Screenplay Award: Stéphane Brizé, Coralie Amédéo and Olivier Gorce for Un bon petit soldat by Stéphane Brizé
Marcello Mastroianni Award to a young emerging actor or actress: Malou Khebizi for 15/18 (A Place to Heal) by Cédric Kahn

After the proclamation of the Golden Lion, the theme of female presence in the competition also returned: “Kvinde Ukendt” was the only film in competition directed by a woman. Maggie Gyllenhaal described the film as brilliantly constructed and capable of striking her “like a laser beam”. Mathilde Arcel, visibly moved, recalled that the film represents her first leading role and her first participation in a festival. John Malkovich, unable to return to Venice, appeared by video to thank the jury and the audience. Stéphane Brizé also thanked Alba Rohrwacher, star of “Un bon petit soldat”.

The Orizzonti Awards

The Orizzonti Jury, chaired by Valérie Donzelli, awarded the following prizes:

Orizzonti Award for Best Film: Un détour par Diane (Diane in the Loop) by Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni
Orizzonti Award for Best Director: Jacqueline Lentzou for Mia mera sti zoi tis Tzo: Kefalaio Faidra (A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra)
Special Orizzonti Jury Prize: La maison du vent (House of the Wind) by Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
Orizzonti Award for Best Actress: Laleh Marzban for Moragheb (Falling House) by Mohsen Gharaei
Orizzonti Award for Best Actor: Riccardo Scamarcio for I figli della scimmia by Tommaso Landucci
Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay: Tommaso Landucci and Damiano Femfert for I figli della scimmia by Tommaso Landucci
Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film: Quelques instants de bonheur (A Few Moments of Happiness) by Shaden Safieddine Tazi

Laleh Marzban dedicated the award to the women of Iran living under pressure, concluding her speech with the words: “One day our dreams will come true”. Riccardo Scamarcio, visibly moved, wished to share the recognition ideally with the young debut actor Andrea Aggio.

The Other Awards of the Evening

The Lion of the Future Jury awarded the Venice Opera Prima Award “Luigi De Laurentiis”, reserved for debut works present in the various competitive sections of the Festival, to “La maison du vent (House of the Wind)” by Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu.

The Armani Beauty Audience Award, for the Venice Spotlight section, was awarded to “Eu Contez (I Matter)” by Alina Șerban.

The Venezia Classici Jury, chaired by Daniele Vicari and composed of 24 students from Italian university film courses, awarded the prize for best restored film to “La lunga notte del ’43” by Florestano Vancini.

The Venice Immersive Jury, chaired by Paul Raphaël, awarded:

Venice Immersive Grand Prize: The Pigeon Ring by Shixin Tao and Yuqi Zhang
Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize: Out of the Ashes by Rory Mitchell and Nonny De La Peña
Venice Immersive Achievement Award: Empire at Sea by Peter Flaherty

With this final Coffee our daily coverage from the Lido also closes: films, encounters, red carpets and stories gathered day after day during the Festival with Venezia da Vivere and VeneziaCinema.

Also read WHO MAKES CINEMA IN VENICE to continue participating in festivals and meeting the protagonists in the city.

Veneziacinema.com is Pietro Gallina‘s project featuring articles on cinema in Venice, along with the podcast Venezia Cinema in brief: short daily episodes voiced by Danilo Maggi, dedicated to films and events at the Lido, available for free on Spotify.

Article by Pietro Gallina (VeneziaCinema.com) with Laura Scarpa. Photos by Rossana Viola.