Tears and standing ovation: Venice Film Festival stunned by documentary on Palestinian child martyr
A documentary depicting the plight of a Palestinian child, who was martyred last year after Israeli forces struck the car she was hiding in with hundreds of tank shells, has drawn a 22-minute-long standing ovation, tearful reactions, and waving Palestinian flags.
The avalanche of emotion followed The Voice of Hind Rajab’s premier at the world-class Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, various movie news outlets reported.
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The documentary features various audio recordings featuring the voice of the Palestinian girl, who was killed in the Gaza Strip in January 2024.
It centers on her and her family’s struggle amid the Israeli regime’s yet-ongoing war of genocide against the coastal sliver.
Rajab’s family were targeted while fleeing Gaza City in their car, leading to the five-year-old child’s losing her uncle, aunt, and three cousins.
She, herself, was killed after Israeli forces shelled the vehicle reportedly 335 times, despite her being the only remaining occupant, who had already spent hours inside trying to contact paramedics.
The shelling was so intense that claimed the lives of all the paramedics, who finally reached there, too, leaving rescuers to find only a pile of bodies at the scene.
The genocide has so far claimed the lives of more than 63,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since its onset in October 2023.
The Israeli regime has refused to consent to any framework for a potential ceasefire deal, despite concessions provided by Gaza’s Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and attempts by mediators to help carve out an agreement.
The regime has, meanwhile, almost entirely blocked entry of all direly-needed aid supplies into Gaza, triggering hundreds of starvation-related deaths.
The documentary has been directed by celebrated Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, and boasts star-studded Hollywood actors Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara as its executive producers.
The duo attended the premiere, holding a photo of Hind with the filmmakers on the red carpet.
Phoenix was wearing an “Artists for Ceasefire” pin and actor Motaz Malhees, who starred in the documentary, waved a Palestinian flag during the ovation.
Participants also chanted “Free Palestine,” while reacting to the movie that many observers predict is a frontrunner for the festival’s coveted Golden Lion award.
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