Following its screening, Kaouther Ben Hania’s film The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025) received a 22-minute-long standing ovation — the longest in the Venice Film Festival’s history – culminating in theatre-wide chants to “Free Palestine.”
The film had its world premiere at the 82nd edition of the renowned Venice Film Festival, which runs until 6 September.
The film is also Tunisia’s official submission to the 98th Academy Awards.
The first screening of the film was completely sold out hours before its showing.
Several artists from the film’s cast and crew attended the screening, including lead actor Motaz Malhees, who held a photo of Hind Rajab on the red carpet and raised the Palestinian flag on the stage of the theatre after the film’s conclusion.
The film’s unprecedented success was reflected in the longest standing ovation in the festival’s history, with chants of “Free Palestine” resonating across the hall.
The Tunisian-French co-production also stars Amer Hlehel, Clara Khoury, and Saja Kilani.
“Film anchored in truth”
In a post-screening press conference, Kilani declared that “the Voice of Hind Rajab does not need our defence. This film is not an opinion or a fantasy; it is anchored in truth. Hind’s story carries the weight of an entire people.”
Film director Ben Hania also commented on Trump’s plans to turn Gaza’s coastline into a “Riviera,” saying, “When I think about Hind playing on the beach, and I think about this project, [I find myself asking] in what world do we live in?”
Hind Rajab
The film recounts the events of 29 January 2024, when Red Crescent volunteers received an emergency call. A six-year-old girl named Hind Rajab was trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue.
While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her.
The film uses real-life voice recordings between Hind and the Red Crescent correspondents, who attempted to rescue her from the unrelenting Israeli attack.
Explaining her vision for the film, Ben Hania said, “What I wanted was to focus on the invisible: The waiting, the fear, the unbearable sound of silence when help doesn’t come. Sometimes, what you don’t see is more devastating than what you do. At the heart of it is something very simple, and very hard to live with. I cannot accept a world where a child calls for help and no one comes. That pain, that failure, belongs to all of us.”
Kaouther Ben Hania
Kaouther Ben Hania is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of the Arab World, known for her bold storytelling and cinematic innovation.
Her 2023 film, Four Daughters, won the L’Oeil d’Or at Cannes and was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Her 2020 feature, The Man Who Sold His Skin, was nominated for Best International Feature and won Best Actor at Venice’s Horizons Section.
Earlier works like Beauty and the Dogs (2017), Zaineb Hates the Snow (2026), and Le Challat de Tunis (2012) also earned international acclaim.
source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)
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The Voice of Hind Rajab gets record 23-minute ovation at Venice premiere
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TUNISIA