Venice Film Festival Sees Sharp Drop in Female Directors in Competition, With May El-Toukhy Standing Solo

By Elsa Keslassy

Elsa Keslassy

International Correspondent

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The Venice Film Festival has suffered its steepest decline in female representation in five years, with just one woman director selected for this edition’s main competition. It marks a dramatic fall from the six female filmmakers in last year’s edition, which saw Kaouther Ben Hania win the grand jury prize for “The Voice of Hind Rajab” and Valérie Donzelli earn best screenplay for “At Work.”

Danish-Egyptian director May El-Toukhy’s drama “Woman Unknown” is the sole female-directed film among the 20 titles competing for the Golden Lion at Venice this year, the lineup for which is curated by longtime chief Alberto Barbera.

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