Jim Jarmusch’s Biggest Career Triumph Yet
Jim Jarmusch took everyone by surprise when his film Father Mother Sister Brother won Venice’s Golden Lion on Saturday. The movie, which stars Cate Blanchett, offers a subtle three-part look at the sometimes rocky bond between parents and grown kids.
While the gentle comedy got mostly warm reviews, nobody really expected it to grab the top award. Most insiders had their money on Voice of Hind, a raw, true account of a five-year-old Palestinian girl’s murder during the Gaza war. That hard-hitting drama by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania settled for the Silver Lion, and had the jury buzzing.
Shot in New Jersey, Dublin, and Paris, Jarmusch’s film is split into chapters. Its ensemble buzzes with talent: Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, and more share the screen with Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Indya Moore, and Luka Sabbat.
“All of us here who make films, we’re not driven by competition. But I am grateful for this surprise award,” said Jim Jarmusch, who burst onto the scene in the ’80s with quirky, budget-directed gems like Stranger Than Paradise and Down by Law.
In another part of the festival, Italy’s Toni Servillo took home best actor honors for the subtly comic turn of a tired president finishing his second term in La Grazia, helmed by his frequent director, Paolo Sorrentino. China’s Xin Zhilei earned best actress for her powerful performance in The Sun Rises on Us All, a drama by Cai Shangjun that explores guilt, sacrifice, and the simmering ache between separated lovers hiding a shattering repressed truth.
The Venice festival traditionally kicks off the award race, with many films that premiere here going on to serious Oscar prospects. Over the last four editions, the festival has delivered a whopping 90 nominations and almost 20 wins.
Venice has usually been labeled the most stylish and the least political of the major festivals, yet in 2025 the strongest films were bluntly engaged with the world: the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza hung like a heavy mist over the entire event, forcing dark realities onto the red carpets and screens alike.
When Jim Jarmusch premiered his latest drama last weekend, he publicly confessed his unease about one of his biggest distributors accepting funds from an Israeli-security-linked company. Set against that backdrop, the feature that stole the show resonated fiercely.
The Voice of Hind, directed by Leyla Bouzid, spent 23 uninterrupted minutes being applauded, a record for the Venice Film Festival that took the audience entirely by surprise. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it “a fierce, vehement piece of work,” a statement that within an hour after the press screening felt elusive—until stark, smoldering final credits appeared.
Later, Bouzid climbed the steps to an audience busy wiping tears. “Cinema cannot bring Hind back, nor can it erase the atrocity committed against her,” she declared. According to France24, “nothing can ever restore what was taken, but cinema can preserve her voice, make it resonate across borders.” The blockade withered.
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The voice, taken live, belongs to a call from a child—hidden inside an archive—and it appears during the moment of the actual gunfire. The screening in the Sala Grande wrapped, and the crowd moved back into the damp night feeling the missing heartbeat of that moving voice
According to NPR, “her voice will continue to echo until accountability is real, until justice is served.”
The top director prize went to Benny Safdie for The Smashing Machine, featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the real-life role of mixed martial arts pioneer Mark Kerr. Safdie shared, “Being in the same room as legends from the past and this year’s newcomers is humbling beyond belief.”
The special jury prize went to Italy’s Gianfranco Rosi for Below the Clouds, a black-and-white documentary capturing the chaotic life of Naples, a city constantly shaken by earthquakes and sitting near a potentially erupting volcano.
The fest’s final night left a trio of Netflix films taking no silverware at all. Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear thriller A House of Dynamite, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein reimagining, and Noah Baumbach’s comedic drama Jay Kelly all went home empty. South Korea’s Park Chan-wook likewise reported no trophies for No Other Choice, despite rave reviews, and so did Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia, which starred Emma Stone.
During the press conference after the ceremony, reporters were puzzled that the Voice of Hind Rajab did not take home the Golden Lion. Jury president Alexander Payne answered, saying, “As a jury, we treasure both films equally. Each to its own reason.
Payne also pushed back on rumor that a member of the jury almost resigned over the decisions. “Did a juror threaten to quit? No. We know not to believe everything online.”
