The 25 minutes of emotional standing ovation paid to the Tunisian film were not enough Kaouther Ben Hania "The voice of Hind Raajb” to convince the Venice 82 Jury which could only be that – and that alone – the Golden Lion of this year. It would have been a precise, unequivocal message to the Government of Israel and a complaint about the responsibilities for what has been happening for two years now Gaza.
The Silver Lion and Grand Jury Prize are indeed scant consolation, demonstrating once again that the Venice Film Festival (Biennale president Buttafuoco insists on calling it a Festival, not a Show) has now abdicated its historic role of interpreting, for better or worse, the dramas of contemporary life and is being crushed by the market-driven logic of the major studios.
Jarmusch's Surprise
The Golden Lion surprisingly went to the film “Father, mother, sister, brother"of Jim Jarmusch With Charlotte Rampling and Cate Blanchett, exploring the relationships between parents and children. Jarmusch took the stage in the main hall, opening with a "shit," damn it. He wasn't expecting it at all, but he was keen to point out that "you can talk about politics without making political films." Jarmusch, like many of his colleagues, also wore a pin with the word "Enough" written on it, protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The voice of Hind Rajab
Moving words just before the Tunisian Kaouther ben Hania: “I would like to dedicate this award – said the director – to the Palestinian Crescent and to those who risk everything to save lives in Gaza, they are the true heroes and the voice of Gaza. They are trying to listen to the cries of all the people to whom no one gives an answer. The voice of Hind Rajab will continue to resonate until someone takes responsibility for what is happening." The film tells the true story of the Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, killed on January 29, 2024. Red Crescent volunteers had received an emergency call. A six-year-old girl was trapped in a car under attack in Gaza, begging for rescue.
While they tried to keep her on the phone, they did everything they could to get an ambulance to her. “We all believe in the power of cinema,” Ben Hania continues, “and that's what brought us here to Venice Film Festival And that's what gives us courage to tell stories that would otherwise remain buried. Cinema won't bring Hind back, nor can it obscure the atrocities that were committed, but cinema can preserve her voice and her story, which tragically is also that of an entire people, who are suffering a genocide inflicted by the Israeli regime that acts with impunity." Hind's mother and little brother "are still in Gaza, and their lives are still in danger, just like those of so many mothers, fathers, and children who wake up every day under the same sky filled with bombing and fear. Their survival is not charity, but a question of justice and humanity. And the world owes them this."
Cinema, faith, and solidarity: the Festival closes with Pizzaballa.
“The angel of history was sitting here in this large hall of the exhibition – said the president Buttafuoco At the end of the ceremony – he showed us the spirit of the abyss as well as hope, the refuge in prayer.” Then a surprise blow. The last word of Venice '82 was given to the Catholic Patriarch of the Holy Land. Pierbattista Pizzaballa who asks for everyone's help, including the world of cinema.
Words of solidarity from all those who took turns on stage to collect the jury's prizes, starting with Toni Servillo, winner of the Coppa Volpi for his role as the President of the Republic in Paolo Sorrentino's "La grazia." The actor recalled the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is about to reach Palestine in the coming hours.
As early as August 24th, actors and authors attending the Festival had signed a document on the ongoing massacre in Gaza. With 1.500 signatures, they called for the exclusion from the festival of their colleagues (two in particular, Israelis Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler, stars of the film "In the Hand of Dante") who openly supported Israel's conduct and subsequently decided to boycott the Festival.
Voices from the church and the square
Even in the pre-opening ceremony on August 26th Buttafuoco had given the floor to the parish priest of Marghera, Nandino Capovilla expelled by Israeli authorities during his last trip to the Holy Land. Before handing the microphone to the parish priest of Margera, Buttafuoco read a passage from Euripides's "Trojan Women" about the massacre of children, emphasizing Euripides's words: "What did he scare you? You murderers, what did you fear from him? Could he, alone, raise a destroyed city? This child's tomb will be a monument to shame."
But just a few steps from the exhibition halls the ambiguity of Italian politics It reigned supreme over Gaza. As Palestinian flags fluttered over the lagoon on Saturday, August 30, and thousands of protesters were unloaded at the Lido, Carabinieri and police carefully identified protesters and actors like Donatella Finocchiaro and confiscated their Palestinian flags. What was the fear?
