May el-Toukhy presents “Woman Unknown” at Venice Film Festival

Director May el-Toukhy is presenting her film “Woman Unknown” at the Venice Film Festival. The psychological thriller, set in Denmark in 1945, follows Marie, a nanny and housemaid who is about to marry a wealthy widower. The narrative explores the precarious position of women accused of being “horizontal collaborators” due to their relationships with German soldiers during the occupation.

El-Toukhy noted that the film aims to give voice to the female experience during and after World War II, a perspective she feels is often ignored by historians. The director cited inspiration from Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich to highlight how the female body often becomes a battlefield for national identity and public shaming.

Beyond the film's subject matter, el-Toukhy addressed the gender gap within the festival, noting that she was initially the only female director in the main competition. She described the lack of female representation as a “structural problem” that persists throughout the filmmaking pipeline, from education to media coverage.