US indie director Jim Jarmusch unexpectedly won the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival on Saturday with Father Mother Sister Brother, a three-part meditation on the uneasy tie between parents and their adult children. The film, which received largely positive reviews, had not been a favourite for the top prize.
The runner-up Silver Lion went to The Voice of Hind Rajab, a harrowing true-life account of the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl during the Gaza war, directed by Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania. The film received a record 23-minute standing ovation at its premiere.
Jarmusch’s film features an ensemble cast including Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat. The Guardian’s chief film critic Peter Bradshaw gave it four stars, describing it as “a film to savour”.
Italy’s Toni Servillo was named best actor for his role in La Grazia, while China’s Xin Zhilei won best actress for The Sun Rises on Us All. The best director award went to Benny Safdie for The Smashing Machine.
The Venice festival marks the start of awards season and has often been seen as the least political of major film festivals, but in 2025 the strongest-impact movies focused on current events, with the Israeli invasion of Gaza casting a long shadow.
