‘Voice of Hind Rajab’ Stuns Venice With Its Longest Standing Ovation of 22 Minutes Amid ‘Free Palestine’ Chants

The Voice of Hind Rajab world premiere at the Venice Film Fest was a hugely emotional event.

The powerful drama, from Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, tells the true story of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, age 5, who was killed in the early stages of the Gaza War.

The feature received a 22-minute standing ovation, the festival’s longest so far.

As the ovation surpassed 20 minutes, in a effort to get the room to disperse, the lights were dimmed in the theatre, but the clapping continued.

While fleeing with her family from Gaza City in January 2024, the car Rajab was traveling in was shelled, killing her uncle, aunt and three cousins. She was left stranded for hours in the vehicle while on the phone to the Palestinian Red Cross Society as paramedics attempted to rescue her. When she was eventually reached, both Rajab and the paramedics were found dead, with media investigations concluding that an Israeli tank had likely fired 335 rounds into the car.

The phone recordings of Rajab’s voice is used in the film.

Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, who are the film’s executive producers, attended the event, holding a photo of Rajab on the red carpet with the filmmaking team. Phoenix also wore a Artists for Ceasefire pin.

At one point, actor Motaz Malhees ran down to the audience to take a Palestinian flag, which he then waved to further cheers.

Even before the first official screening, many were already predicting that the film was frontrunner for the Golden Lion.

At the press conference, which began with lengthy standing ovation, one of the film’s stars, Saja Kilani, read out a statement on behalf of the filmmaking team.

“We ask: Isn’t it enough? Enough of the mass killing, the starvation, the destruction, the dehumanization, the ongoing occupation,” she said.

“Hind’s story carries the weight of an entire people, it is not hers alone. Her voice is one amongst 19000 children who lost their lives in Gaza in the last two years alone.

It is the voice of every mother, father, doctor, teacher, artist, journalist, volunteer, paramedic, each with the right to live, to dream, to exist in dignity, yet all of it was stolen in front of unblinking eyes. And these are only the voices we know. Beyond every number is a story that never got to be told.”

Kilani added: “Hind’s story is a about a child crying out, ‘Save me.’ The haunting question is: how have we let a child beg for life and go unheard? No one can live in peace while even one child is still fighting for life. Let Hind Rajab’s voice echo in every theatre, let it remind you of the silence the world has built around Gaza, let it name the genocide that silence protects and let it pierce the word: enough.”

As the Venice Film Fest started, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” was boarded by Brad Pitt , Phoenix and Mara as producers. Phoenix and Mara were present at the press conference to show their support.

Asked whether Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “losing the culture war” in Hollywood, Ben Hania said she hoped their participation would “mean something.”

“We’ve seen that the narrative around the world is that those dying in Gaza are collateral damage. This is so dehumanizing,” she said. “That’s why cinema, art and every kind of expression is very important — to give those people a voice and a face.”

Voice of Hind Rajab, The: Tunisian Director Kaouther Ben Hania’s True Story of Palestinian Girl, Killed in Gaza War

‘Voice of Hind Rajab’ Stuns Venice With Its Longest Standing Ovation of 22 Minutes Amid ‘Free Palestine’ Chants

PROFESSOR / CRITIC / AUTHOR