‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ breaks Venice record with 23-minute ovation, chants of “Free Palestine” at festival

Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab made history at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday night, receiving a record 23-minute standing ovation — the longest ever recorded at the festival. The emotional premiere left much of the audience in tears, with chants of “Free Palestine” echoing through the Sala Grande.

The film recounts the final hours of five-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed in Gaza in January 2024. While fleeing Gaza City with relatives, her family’s car was shelled. The child survived the initial attack and spent hours trapped among the dead, speaking on the phone with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society as paramedics tried to reach her. “Please come to me, please come. I’m scared,” she is heard saying in the real recordings incorporated into the film. When rescuers finally arrived, both Rajab and the medics were found dead.

Investigations by Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines, Forensic Architecture and Earshot later determined that an Israeli tank, positioned just meters away, had fired into the vehicle. A July 2024 UN report attributed the attack directly to Israeli forces. The Israeli military has denied responsibility, saying the incident remains under review.

The Venice audience responded with unprecedented emotion. Actor Motaz Malhees waved a Palestinian flag as the applause continued even after the lights dimmed in an effort to clear the room. Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, who executive produced the film, stood alongside the cast and crew while holding a photo of Rajab. Phoenix also wore an Artists for Ceasefire pin.

Earlier in the day, the press conference began with its own lengthy ovation. Cast member Saja Kilani read a statement on behalf of the filmmakers: “Hind’s story carries the weight of an entire people… Her voice is one amongst 19,000 children who lost their lives in Gaza in the last two years alone.”

Ben Hania, who has previously been Oscar-nominated, said she hopes the film can counter what she called a dehumanizing global narrative: “Cinema and art are crucial to give these people a voice and a face.”

With its historic reception, The Voice of Hind Rajab is already being considered a leading contender for the Golden Lion, and will likely face stiff competition from Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice.