Venice Film Festival criticised as Gaza film loses Golden Lion

Showtimes

News

Venice Film Festival criticised as Gaza film loses Golden Lion

Writer: Heidi Hsia

"Voice of Hind Rajab" loses Golden Lion to American indie film

8 Sep - Venice Film Festival jury president Alexander Payne recently found himself having to explain several issues stemming from the result of this year's competition, after Jim Jarmusch's "Father Mother Sister Brother" was named the Golden Lion winner.

The American filmmaker, who spoke to the media after the surprising win, seeing that many thought that the Golden Lion should have gone to Kaouther Ben Hania's "The Voice of Hind Rajab", said that the panel of jury treasure both films equally.

"That's the unfair thing of being at a festival, is having to say this is better than that. It's not. As a jury, we treasure both of those films equally, each for its own reason. And we wish both of those films a long and important life, and we hope that the support of the awards we've given tonight will help them, each in its own way," he said.

Alexander Payne led the panel of jury this year

It is noted that Ben Hania's film, co-produced by Alana Hadid's Watermelon Pictures and received the backings of Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Glazer, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, received a tearful 23-minute standing ovation at its premiere and was ultimately awarded the second-place grand jury prize.

It is a retelling of the killing of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who lived in the Gaza Strip and was shot hundreds of times by the IDF during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.

As for rumours that Brazilian actress and writer Fernanda Torres, who is also part of the jury threatened to quit the jury over Payne's refusal to award "The Voice of Hind Rajab" the Golden Lion, he said, "I think we know to live in a world not to believe everything we read online."