Venice: The Voice of Hind Rajab, a devastating docudrama chronicling the tragic final moments of a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, has won the prestigious Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.
Directed by acclaimed French-Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, the film was awarded the festival’s second-highest honour on Saturday, September 6, following a powerful premiere that received a record-breaking 23-minute, 50-second standing ovation. The top prize, the Golden Lion, went to Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother.
Ben Hania’s deeply moving film recounts the real-life events of January 29, 2024, when young Hind Rajab was the sole survivor in a car carrying her family as they tried to flee Gaza City. After Israeli gunfire struck the vehicle, Hind, trapped among the bodies of her aunt, uncle, and three cousins, made a desperate call to the Palestine Red Crescent Society pleading for rescue. She remained on the phone with volunteers for hours before the vehicle—and ultimately Hind herself—was shelled again, killing her and two paramedics sent to save her.
The film integrates the original audio from Hind’s final call, capturing her voice in a moment of unimaginable vulnerability. Its emotional resonance was widely felt across the festival, prompting strong public and critical response.
In a post shared on Instagram, Ben Hania dedicated the award to frontline responders in the besieged territory, “I dedicate this award to the Palestinian Red Crescent and all those who have risked everything to save lives in Gaza. They are the real heroes.”
She continued, “The voice of Hind is the voice of Gaza itself. A cry for rescue the entire world could hear, yet no one answered. Her voice will continue to echo until accountability is real and justice is served.”
Reflecting on cinema’s role, the director added, “We all believe in the force of cinema. It is what gathers us here tonight, and what gives us the courage to tell stories that might otherwise be buried.”
“Cinema cannot bring Hind back, nor can it erase the atrocity committed against her,” Ben Hania continued in her statement. “Nothing can ever restore what was taken. But cinema can preserve her voice, make it resonate across borders, because her story is not hers alone.
“It is tragically the story of an entire people enduring genocide, inflicted by a criminal Israeli regime that acts with impunity.
“Tonight, this story is not only about memory, it is about urgency. Hind’s mother, Wissam, and her little brother, Iyad, are still in Gaza. Their lives remain in danger, as do the lives of countless mothers, fathers and children who wake up every day under the same sky of fear, hunger, and bombardment.
“I urge the leaders of the world to save them. Their survival is not a matter of charity. It is a matter of justice, of humanity, of the minimum that the world owes to them.
The director ended her message by quoting Nelson Mandela, “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians. Today, those words resonate more than ever. Enough is enough.”
Included in her post was a personal message from Wissam Hamada, Hind’s mother, “Thank you to everyone who supported this film and this story. I hope the world doesn’t forget that Hind was not the only child. So many others are still waiting for hope. I pray this film contributes to ending the war.”
The Voice of Hind Rajab has also been officially selected as Tunisia’s submission for Best International Feature at the 2026 Academy Awards, further amplifying its global visibility and impact.
As the death toll in Gaza continues to rise—reportedly surpassing 64,000 Palestinians, including over 18,000 children since October 2023.
