Jim Jarmusch wins the Golden Lion in Venice with "Father, Mother, Sister, Brother"

By The New Obs with AFP

At the end of a highly political edition, the 82nd Venice Film Festival on Saturday, September 7, awarded the Golden Lion to American director Jim Jarmusch for "Father, Mother, Sister, Brother." The Silver Lion, the second most important prize at the Italian festival, was awarded to Kaouther Ben Hania for "The Voice of Hind Rajab," a film about Gaza.

Jim Jarmusch's surprisingly award-winning film is a triptych between New Jersey, Dublin and Paris, carried by a five-star cast (Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett, Tom Waits, etc.). A tender reflection on family, a sort of "anti-action film," its 72-year-old director joked.

Wearing dark glasses and an "Enough " pin, Jim Jarmusch said that "you don't have to talk politics to be political. It can jeopardize empathy and connection between people, which is the first step in solving the problems we have." He also thanked the jury, chaired by his compatriot Alexander Payne, for appreciating his "low-key film."

The Mostra's favorite, "The Voice of Hind Rajab," was awarded the Silver Lion. Its director, Kaouther Ben Hania, dedicated the award to the workers of the Palestinian Red Crescent. Hind Rajab's story is "the tragic story of an entire people suffering from genocide inflicted by a criminal Israeli government that acts with impunity," she declared, deeply moved, on stage. "Awards are good, but the most important thing is that this film is seen, and seen again, and seen again," she later told AFP Video, recalling that Jim Jarmusch is her "idol" and inspired her to make films.

"The Voice of Hind Rajab" received a 23-minute standing ovation and moved festival-goers. Its director relied on real recordings of a Palestinian girl's cries for help, which had sparked intense emotion when they were first released.

Hind Rajab was found dead inside a bullet-riddled car in Gaza City, days after spending hours on the phone with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society on January 29, 2024. The vehicle she was traveling in with six family members had been fired upon by Israeli soldiers.

Despite a star-studded lineup, the war in the Gaza Strip dominated the Mostra. The festival opened with a call from a collective founded by ten Italian filmmakers to condemn the war unleashed after Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. This was followed by an unprecedented march on the Lido, a week ago, by several thousand protesters.

The festival also named best director to American Benny Safdie, who gave a golden role to Dwayne Johnson, alias The Rock, in "The Smashing Machine" , about an MMA fighter struggling with addiction.

But it was ultimately Italian actor Toni Servillo who took home the award for his role as a widowed president at the end of his term caught up in moral dilemmas in "La Grazia." The film, which deals with euthanasia in the background, marks a new collaboration with Paolo Sorrentino, who, like him, achieved international prominence with "La Grande Bellezza."

China's Xin Zhilei received the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her performance as a tormented woman when a former lover reappears in Cai Shangjun's "The Sun Rises on Us All."

The ceremony concluded with a message from Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem, who called via videoconference for an end to "this war as quickly as possible." "We know it no longer makes sense to continue. It is time to stop this drift."