‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ Emerges as Golden Lion Frontrunner — 23-Minute Standing Ovation! [Venice]

UPDATE: I don’t usually pay much attention to timed ovations—they often feel meaningless—but can you even imagine standing and clapping for 23 minutes straight at the end of a film? That’s exactly what happened at Venice for “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” That’s a festival record. Attendees are reportedly now at home soothing their sore hands in a giant bowl of ice.

EARLIER: I missed this one at Venice, since I was on a flight to Toronto—likely where I’ll finally get to see it— which is why I can’t really chime in with my thoughts just yet.

Listen, even before the festival began, I predicted that the current geopolitical climate would make Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab resonate strongly with both the Venice jury and critics. Nobody had even seen it, but it was already a Golden Lion frontrunner.

Well, the film screened this morning at 8:30 a.m., and reviews are predictably strong for the 89-minute “Hind Rajab”: Deadline, THR, Vulture, IndieWire, The Times, Screen all praising it. The lone voice of dissent seems to be Variety.

Following her Cannes-acclaimed “Four Daughters,” Ben Hania has turned her eye toward another politically charged film. The tragic story of seven-year-old Hind Rajab, the Palestinian girl whose desperate calls for help went viral, is told in a hybrid doc format, using actors alongside real video and audio footage.

Rajab was killed by IDF forces roughly 20 months ago, along with six of her family members and two paramedics who attempted to rescue her. While Israel claimed “no troops were present” and denied carrying out the attack, investigations by the Washington Post and Sky News, using satellite imagery and visual evidence, confirmed the presence of Israeli tanks, one of which likely fired 335 rounds at the car containing civilians, including children.

At this year’s jury press conference, the ongoing war in Gaza dominated the conversation, though jury president Alexander Payne diplomatically chose not to share his personal views, saying he was “unprepared for that question” and that “I’m here to judge and talk about cinema.”

In all likelihood, this year’s Golden Lion has come down to two films: “No Other Choice” and “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”