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Some cried, others chanted “Free Palestine”, everyone was on their feet, applauding Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s film The Voice of Hind Rajab at the Venice International Film Festival on Wednesday. The film, which shows the last moments of six-year-old Hind Rajab from inside the response centre of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society before she was killed by Israeli fire in January 2024, received a record 22-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Tuesday.

Using actual recordings of Hind’s voice, the movie paints a picture of the response centre as the little girl begged to be rescued after members of her family were killed in front of her. Vogue called the film a “humanist marvel”, IndieWire called it a “tender and devastating elegy” and New York Magazine said it was “the most powerful film at Venice.”

People who saw the film had very similar things to say about it being gut-wrenching, hard to watch and devastating.

Alex Ritman, Variety’s London bureau chief, said the film broke him and everyone else present.

Turkish Member of Parliament Müşerref Pervin Tuba Durgut joined netizens in remembering Hind’s story and demanding an end to the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

Director Ben Hania said the film was particularly important to her because she believed “cinema can give powerless or disempowered people a face and a voice”. She said Hind’s voice wasn’t just that of a little girl; it was the voice of all of Gaza.

Actor Saja Kilani spoke at the premiere, asking, “How did we let a child beg for survival, for help?” She said there was no acting in The Voice of Hind Rajab, “It was simply being a decent human being.” Her co-star, Motaz Malhees, was praised for his role in the film and how he held up the Palestinian flag while receiving applause at the screening.

The applause itself was the talk of the town, as some poked fun at Israelis who undoubtedly wouldn’t be pleased at the reception this film is getting.

It wasn’t all pats on the back, though — some people questioned the impact of the film as the war on Gaza enters its 699th day.

The Story of Hind Rajab is Tunisian — it’s Tunisia’s entry to the Academy Awards this year — but also has Hollywood stars Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara as executive producers alongside filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and Jonathan Glazer. The American connection did not sit well with many, who called out Hollywood for its complacency.

As Hind’s tiny voice echoes through Venice, the Israeli Defence Forces continue their killing spree in Gaza, having bombed, shelled, shot and starved over 63,000 people to death. Hind’s mother, who hopes her daughter’s memory will help end the war, continues to live through the horror as a widow after her husband was killed in July 2024.