Kaouther Ben Hania’s new movie The Voice of Hind Rajab made historical past on the 2025 Venice Movie Competition, receiving a 22-minute standing ovation — the longest of the pageant — because the viewers broke into chants of “Free Palestine.”
The 90-minute function, Tunisia’s official Oscar submission for Finest Worldwide Characteristic, recounts the tragic ultimate hours of six-year-old Hind Rajab. In January 2024, Hind survived after Israeli tank hearth struck her household’s automobile in Gaza Metropolis, killing everybody else on board. Trapped and terrified, she remained on the telephone with the Palestinian Pink Crescent till she, together with two paramedics despatched to rescue her, was later killed when their ambulance was struck. The movie consists of verified audio of Hind’s determined final name.
The mission, helmed by Ben Hania — acclaimed for 4 Daughters — introduced collectively a formidable roster of govt producers, amongst them Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuarón, and Jonathan Glazer. Phoenix and Mara attended the Venice premiere, visibly moved by the emotional reception. Inside Sala Grande, the screening ended with tears, applause, Palestinian flags, and keffiyehs filling the theatre.
At a press convention earlier, Palestinian-Canadian actress Saja Kilani, who stars within the movie, known as Hind’s story an emblem of resilience. “Hind’s story carries the load of a whole folks,” she stated. “It’s the voice of each daughter and each son with the proper to reside, to dream, to exist in dignity.”
Talking in regards to the problem of telling such a devastating story, Ben Hania admitted, “I used to be afraid that I’d fail her voice.” However after the Venice response, she added, “Cinema and artwork are essential to offer these folks a voice and a face.”
