Kaouther Ben Hania’s new film The Voice of Hind Rajab made history at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, receiving a 22-minute standing ovation — the longest of the festival — as the audience broke into chants of “Free Palestine.”
The 90-minute feature, Tunisia’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature, recounts the tragic final hours of six-year-old Hind Rajab. In January 2024, Hind survived after Israeli tank fire struck her family’s car in Gaza City, killing everyone else on board. Trapped and terrified, she remained on the phone with the Palestinian Red Crescent until she, along with two paramedics sent to rescue her, was later killed when their ambulance was struck. The film includes verified audio of Hind’s desperate last call.
The project, helmed by Ben Hania — acclaimed for Four Daughters — brought together an impressive roster of executive producers, among 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 conference earlier, Palestinian-Canadian actress Saja Kilani, who stars in the film, called Hind’s story a symbol of resilience. “Hind’s story carries the weight of an entire people,” she said. “It is the voice of every daughter and every son with the right to live, to dream, to exist in dignity.”
Speaking about the challenge of telling such a devastating story, Ben Hania admitted, “I was afraid that I’d fail her voice.” But after the Venice response, she added, “Cinema and art are important to give those people a voice and a face.”
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