The Voice of Hind Rajab made history at the 2025 Venice Film Festival with a 23-minute standing ovation after its premiere.
Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, the film tells the story of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza City in January 2024.
The film also remembers two paramedics who died while attempting to rescue her.
No scripted drama – just the raw, real voice of a child in crisis
The film follows the hours Hind spent trapped inside a car after her family came under attack.
During that time, she spoke with Red Crescent volunteers who tried to arrange a rescue.
Ben Hania uses real audio recordings of those calls in the film. This approach gives the story an intimate and deeply personal quality.
Instead of recreating every event through conventional dramatic scenes, the director lets Hind’s real voice remain at the centre of the story.
The result connects a real-life tragedy with a cinematic narrative. It also gives audiences a direct sense of the fear and desperation surrounding the rescue effort.
A collective act of remembrance
Several major names from the film industry supported the project.
Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara joined the production as executive producers. Acclaimed filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and Jonathan Glazer also supported the film.
Their involvement helped bring wider attention to Ben Hania’s work and the story behind it.
The film uses cinema as a way to preserve the memory of Hind and the people who tried to save her.
23 minutes of applause
The premiere received an extraordinary response from the Venice audience.
As the credits rolled, viewers held up images of Hind and applauded for around 23 minutes.
The response became one of the defining moments of the 2025 festival. It also surpassed the previous reported Venice record of 22 minutes, set by Pan’s Labyrinth.
The reaction reflected more than appreciation for the filmmaking. Many viewers responded to the emotional weight of Hind’s story and the use of her real voice.
The moment also showed how cinema can bring renewed attention to stories that audiences may otherwise encounter only through news reports.
A powerful moment for cinema
The Voice of Hind Rajab turned its Venice premiere into a moment of remembrance.
Ben Hania’s decision to use authentic recordings gives the film a distinctive emotional impact. It also places the audience close to the events that inspired the story.
The 23-minute ovation has now become an important part of the film’s festival history.
More importantly, the response has helped introduce Hind’s story to an international film audience and highlighted cinema’s ability to preserve memories of real human tragedies.
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