27/08/2025 - The pic follows a young woman about to marry a wealthy widower she has been working for, as a secret she harbours threatens to upend her life

l-r: Actress Mathilde Arcel, director May el-Toukhy and actor Carsten Bjørnlund (© Jasper Spanning)

Copenhagen-based sales outfit TrustNordisk has acquired international sales rights to Woman, Unknown, the upcoming Danish drama by acclaimed director May el-Toukhy (Queen of Hearts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gustav Lindh
interview: May el-Toukhy
film profile], The Crown).

The pic stars Mathilde Arcel (Second Victims, Special Unit – The First Murder) and Carsten Bjørnlund (The Legacy) in the leading roles. The story, penned by the helmer herself together with Maren Louise Kähne, follows Marie. The young woman is about to marry Christian, a wealthy older widower for whom she has been working as a nanny and housekeeper. While the marriage promises social stability and a fresh start, Marie harbours a secret that threatens to upend her new life. As the truth emerges, she must navigate a complex moral landscape to protect her identity and status.

“This is el-Toukhy’s third feature with scriptwriter Maren Louise Kähne, continuing a long-term collaboration that began with Long Story Short [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Queen of Hearts,” said TrustNordisk managing director Susan Wendt. “We are more than excited to be reunited with director May el-Toukhy. She has an extraordinary talent for creating emotionally tense dramas, and with Woman, Unknown, she presents a riveting drama focusing on a female character under severe pressure. We can’t wait to bring this extraordinary film to the international market.”

Since her debut, Long Story Short (2015), el-Toukhy has earned acclaim for emotionally charged, character-driven dramas. Her second feature, Queen of Hearts (2019), world-premiered at Sundance, winning the Audience Award, as well as the Nordic Council Film Prize and three awards at the Göteborg International Film Festival. The film was later adapted as the French remake Last Summer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Catherine Breillat
film profile] (2023) by Catherine Breillat, which vied for Cannes’ Palme d’Or. El-Toukhy has also directed episodes of series including The Legacy (2017), Ride Upon the Storm (2017), Cry Wolf [+see also:
series review
interview: Jesper Ganslandt
series profile] (2020) and, most recently, The Crown (2022-2023). Earlier this year, she joined the artistic collective behind the Dogma 25 initiative announced at Cannes (see the news).

Woman, Unknown will be shot in Riga, Gothenburg and Copenhagen, with a release planned for late 2026. The film will be in Danish, and local distribution will be handled by Nordisk Film Distribution.

The movie, budgeted at €5.8 million and staged by Mikael Rieks for Nordisk Film Production A/S in co-production with Estonia’s Nafta Films and Sweden’s Film i Väst, is currently in pre-production, with principal photography set to commence in late September 2025. The executive producers are Tine Grew Pfeiffer and Katrine Vogelsang. The cinematography is courtesy of Jasper Spanning, whilst Rasmus Steengaard Hansen is in charge of the editing.

Other backers include the Danish Film Institute, Eurimages, the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, DR, the Swedish Film Institute, SVT, LIAA, the Riga Film Fund, TrustNordisk and Zentropa.

TrustNordisk will present the film to potential buyers for the first time at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.