DUBAI: Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania has been selected to serve on the international competition jury at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, further cementing her status as one of the Arab world’s most celebrated contemporary directors.
Ben Hania will join jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal in deciding this year’s top awards, including the prestigious Golden Lion for best film. The festival is set to take place on the Lido in Venice from Sept. 2 to 12.
The jury will also include British composer and artist Daniel Blumberg, Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To, French director Xavier Giannoli, Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat and Italian media scholar Francesco Casetti.
The appointment comes amid a period of international acclaim for Ben Hania, whose latest feature, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Venice festival before securing an Academy Award nomination for best international feature film.
The film recounts the story of Hind Rajab, the 5-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza in 2024 after spending hours on the phone with emergency responders while trapped in a vehicle.
