‘A standing ovation won’t bring Hind back’ — X reacts to The Voice of Hind Rajab being hailed in Venice
While those at the premiere sang praises of the film, netizens were more concerned about the unceasing genocide.
The jury roster for the upcoming Venice Film Festival has been announced and last year’s Silver Lion awardee Kaouther Ben Hania is one of the seven jurors.
Ben Hania’s film The Voice of Hind Rajab won the festival’s second-highest honour and received a record-breaking 22-minute standing ovation at its festival showing.
The jury is headed by American filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal, whose psychological thriller debut as a director earned three Academy Award nominations and The Venice Film Festival’s Award for Best Screenplay. She’s also an accomplished actor, having earned an Academy nod for her performance in 2009’s Crazy Heart.
Ben Hania also has an impressive collection of Oscar nominations, most recently getting a Best International Feature Film nod for The Voice of Hind Rajab — her second recognition in the category after a nod for The Man Who Sold His Skin in 2021.
Her last film, The Lost Daughter, won the L’Œil d’Or at Cannes and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Dissident Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat is also on the panel. Sadat’s film No Good Men — part of a five-part series inspired by the unpublished autobiographical manuscript of her longtime friend and collaborator, Anwar Hashimi — opened this year’s Berlinale Film Festival.
Other jurors include Britain’s Daniel Blumberg, Italy’s Francesco Casetti, France’s Xavier Giannoli and Taiwanese Johnnie To.
The jury will award the Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay, and Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
The festival’s 83rd iteration will be held from September 2-12.
Cover photo: AFP