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Venice 2026 Main Competition Has Just One Female Director – Worst in Five Years

The Venice Film Festival 2026 has selected just one female director, May El-Toukhy, for its main competition — the lowest figure in five years. This marks a dramatic fall from last year's six female filmmakers in competition, when Kaouther Ben Hania won the grand jury prize for "The Voice of Hind." The sharp decline has drawn attention to gender representation at major film festivals.