Danish actor Mathilde Arcel claimed the Volpi Cup for best actress at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday night for her performance in May el-Toukhy’s post-World War II drama Woman Unknown. The 30-year-old’s win marked her first leading role in a feature film. The film itself secured the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion for best film.
Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal noted that the panel made an exception to Venice’s typical guidelines limiting awards to one per film due to Arcel’s unanimous selection among the judges. Gyllenhaal praised the actor’s performance, describing her as someone who would “blow our socks off” in the role.
In a subsequent interview with Danish newspaper Politiken, Arcel disclosed that she had traveled back to Copenhagen following the film’s premiere to fulfill her obligations at the job centre, as she relies on unemployment benefits between acting engagements. She then returned to Venice after being advised to attend the awards ceremony. The revelation aligns with broader employment challenges in the acting profession; the UK actors’ trade union Equity reported in 2023 that 63% of its members have received social security assistance at some point.
The film, set immediately following the Nazi occupation of Denmark, centers on Marie, a young housekeeper and nanny employed by a widowed industrialist. The narrative takes a dramatic turn when an unexpected encounter with a former schoolmate threatens to expose a concealed past, subjecting Marie to social persecution as a female “horizontal collaborator” with German soldiers during the occupation.
Following her victory, Arcel indicated that her agent had fielded multiple inquiries regarding new project opportunities. She expressed enthusiasm about continuing her career and working with new collaborators, mentioning an interest in potentially appearing in the British television series Midsomer Murders. The male equivalent of the Volpi Cup went to veteran actor John Malkovich.
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