The autumn festival circuit has done its job: the 2026 awards race now has its first front-runners. At the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Lion went to Woman Unknown, directed by Danish-Egyptian filmmaker May el-Toukhy, while John Malkovich won the Volpi Cup for best actor. With the Emmys now behind us and the Oscars months away, here is what the festival results suggest about the season ahead.
Venice 2026 at a glance
- Golden Lion: Woman Unknown — dir. May el-Toukhy
- Volpi Cup, best actor: John Malkovich
- Volpi Cup, best actress: Mathilde Arcel
A win for intimate filmmaking
El-Toukhy first drew international attention with the Danish drama Queen of Hearts, and her Venice victory confirms her as one of Europe’s most compelling directors. Woman Unknown belongs to a strand of character-driven cinema that juries have increasingly rewarded over spectacle, and Italian press noted that women filmmakers and performers were at the centre of this year’s prize-giving.
Why Venice matters for the Oscars
Over the past decade Venice has become one of the most important launchpads for the Academy Awards. Films premiering on the Lido have gone on to win best picture and multiple acting categories, partly because the festival’s late-summer timing allows distributors to build momentum through the autumn. A Golden Lion does not guarantee Oscar success — particularly for international-language films — but it virtually guarantees attention from critics’ groups and guild voters.
Festival juries rarely predict the Oscars, but they decide which films the industry talks about in October.
The acting races
Malkovich’s best actor win puts a veteran performer back in the conversation after decades of acclaimed work, while Mathilde Arcel’s prize could make her one of the breakout names of the season. Distributors now face decisions about how aggressively to campaign for performances in films that may have limited theatrical releases in the United States.
What to watch next
- Critics’ awards: End-of-year prizes from major critics’ circles begin in late November and December.
- Guild nominations: Producers, directors and actors’ guild nominations typically arrive in early January.
- Box office: Holiday releases, including The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping on November 20, will compete for attention.
Stay with our Entertainment section as the race develops.