Instead, the film about a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli troops last year, which reduced many festival viewers to tears, was given the grand jury second prize.<\/p>\n
Franco-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania produced a dramatized retelling of Hind Rajab Hamada\u2019s ordeal after she was trapped in a car that came under fire while she and her relatives were fleeing Gaza City.<\/p>\n
\t From left : (From L) Tunisian producer Nadim Cheikhrouha, Israeli actor Amer Hlehel, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, actress Saja Kilani, actor Motaz Malhees, actress Clara Khoury, producer Odessa Rae, Jim Wilson, US actress Rooney Mara and US actor Joaquin Phoenix pose with a portrait of late Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, during the red carpet for the movie \u201cThe Voice of Hind Rajab\u201d presented in competition at the 82nd International Venice Film Festival, at Venice Lido on September 3, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana FABI \/ AFP)<\/p>\n It was the most talked-about movie on the Venice Lido and tipped by many as the likely winner after a 23-minute standing ovation<\/a> at its premiere on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Hind Rajab\u2019s story \u201cis not hers alone,\u201d Ben Hania said as she accepted her award.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is tragically the story of an entire people enduring genocide, inflicted by a criminal Israeli regime that acts with impunity,\u201d she claimed.<\/p>\n Israel strongly rejects accusations of genocide, saying it targets Hamas in order to guarantee Israelis live in security, and stressing it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities despite Hamas using Gaza\u2019s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.<\/p>\n Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and Oscar-winning directors Jonathan Glazer (\u201cThe Zone of Interest\u201d) and Mexico\u2019s Alfonso Cuaron (\u201cRoma\u201d) joined the film as executive producers after editing had been completed.<\/p>\n Jarmusch signalled his opposition to Israel\u2019s continued military campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza by wearing a badge saying \u201cEnough\u201d at the Venice awards ceremony.<\/p>\n \t US director Jim Jarmusch poses with the Golden Lion for Best Film he received for \u2018Father Mother Sister Brother\u2019 after the award ceremony of the 82nd Venice Film Festival on September 6, 2025, at Venice Lido. (Photo by Tiziana FABI \/ AFP)<\/p>\n Best actors<\/p>\n Elsewhere on Saturday, China\u2019s Xin Zhilei won the best actress award for her role in \u201cThe Sun Rises on Us All,\u201d directed by compatriot Cai Shangjun.<\/p>\n The 39-year-old actress plays a woman trying to make amends with her former lover, who served time in prison for a crime she had committed.<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s Toni Servillo won the best actor award after wowing audiences in Paolo Sorrentino\u2019s \u201cLa Grazia,\u201d playing an Italian president wrestling with whether to sign a euthanasia bill into law.<\/p>\n Servillo was one of several award-winners to speak about Gaza from the stage, expressing \u201cadmiration\u201d for activists on a flotilla of boats attempting to break Israel\u2019s siege of the Strip.<\/p>\n They \u201chave decided to set sail with courage to reach Palestine and to bring a sign of humanity to a land where human dignity is daily and cruelly demeaned,\u201d Servillo said.<\/p>\n \t Italian actor Toni Servillo poses with the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor he received for his part in \u201cLa Grazia\u201d (Grace) after the award ceremony of the 82nd Venice Film Festival on September 6, 2025, at Venice Lido. (Photo by Tiziana FABI \/ AFP)<\/p>\n \u201cFather Mother Sister Brother\u201d is the first Jarmusch film to compete at Venice.<\/p>\n Film bible Variety said it had his \u201ctrademark wry humor but also new notes of mellow, generous wisdom.\u201d<\/p>\n Screen called it a \u201ctender family triptych.\u201d<\/p>\n In the secondary \u201cOrizzonti\u201d (\u201cHorizons\u201d) section of the festival, gay Mexican truck driver drama \u201cEn el Camino\u201d by David Pablos scooped the top prize.<\/p>\n Major platform<\/p>\n Critics were broadly positive about the line-up of films in Venice this year. The festival is an important launch platform for big-budget international productions and arthouse films.<\/p>\n Several previous winners of the prestigious Golden Lion have gone on to Oscar glory, such as \u201cNomadland\u201d and \u201cJoker.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Smashing Machine,\u201d by American director Benny Safdie, a touching film about late 1990s mixed martial arts (MMA) pioneer Mark Kerr, picked up the third-place directing prize on Saturday.<\/p>\n The Hollywood Reporter called the film starring Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson a \u201ccompellingly gritty and offbeat biopic,\u201d while Johnson was even tipped by some for a best actor award.<\/p>\n \u201cSotto le Nuvole\u201d (Below the Clouds), a sumptuous documentary about Naples by acclaimed Italian documentary maker Gianfranco Rosi, won a special jury prize.<\/p>\n The Gaza conflict has been a major talking point throughout this year\u2019s festival.<\/p>\n An open letter calling on festival organizers to denounce the Israeli government has been signed by around 2,000 cinema insiders, according to the organizers.<\/p>\n
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