Father Mother Sister Brother wins Golden Lion over The Voice of Hind Rajab - List of all winners at Venice Film Festival 2025

On the Lido di Venezia, (August 27-September 6, 2025), the 82nd Venice Film Festival was ablaze with bold narratives and uplifting dramas. Known as the "oldest" festival in the world, this 10-day festival showcased the artistry of many talented filmmakers from all over the planet. The festival culminated with an appropriate upset, when Jim Jarmusch's Father Mother Sister Brother defeated a crowd of heavyweight contenders for the Golden Lion Prize including The Voice of Hind Rajab that got a historic 23-minute ovation. 

Father Mother Sister Brother is a poignant triptych concerning families from New Jersey, Dublin and Paris, and for some reason, it seemed to resonate with the Alexander Payne-led jury. Jarmusch seemed stunned and began to accept his award in a Whiplash moment with the words, "Oh shit!", and he admitted his film had a certain banality, thanking the jury for feeling that way about it.

Critics thought the film exhibited a pressure to be restrained in an over-the-top festival, although some thought it could be surprising to defeat a film with a buzz like The Voice of Hind Rajab.

The Voice of Hind Rajab, Kaouther Ben Hania's docudrama about the cry for help from a six-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza, was the most striking film in The Festival, capturing the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize. It was the strongest film in competition and after an emotional 23-minute standing ovation, it seemed an obvious candidate for the top prize. In her speech, Ben Hania paid tribute to Gaza's health care workers and called for peace and justice. The film's visceral power was evident and left a significant mark, even without a Golden Lion.

The winners list at Venice Film Festival 2025

• Golden Lion (Best Film): Father Mother Sister Brother by Jim Jarmusch (USA, Ireland, France)
• Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize: The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia, France)
• Silver Lion (Best Director): Benny Safdie for The Smashing Machine (USA)
• Coppa Volpi (Best Actress): Xin Zhilei for The Sun Rises on Us All (China)
• Coppa Volpi (Best Actor): Toni Servillo for La Grazia (Italy)
• Best Screenplay: Valérie Donzelli and Gilles Marchand for At Work (France)
• Special Jury Prize: Below the Clouds by Gianfranco Rosi (Italy)
• Marcello Mastroianni Award (Best Young Actor/Actress): Luna Wedler for Silent Friend (Germany, France, Hungary)
• Orizzonti (Horizons) Best Film: On the Road by David Pablos (Mexico)
• Orizzonti Best Director: Anuparna Roy for Songs of Forgotten Trees (India)
• Orizzonti Special Jury Prize: Lost Land by Akio Fujimoto (Japan, France, Malaysia, Germany)
• Orizzonti Best Actress: Benedetta Porcaroli for The Kidnapping of Arabella (Italy)
• Orizzonti Best Actor: Giacomo Covi for A Year of School (Italy, France)
• Orizzonti Best Screenplay: Ana Cristina Barragán for The Ivy (Ecuador)
• Orizzonti Best Short Film: Without Kelly by Lovisa Sirén (Sweden)
• Lion of the Future (Best Debut Film): Short Summer by Nastia Korkia (Germany, France, Serbia)
• Armani Beauty Audience Award: Calle Málaga by Maryam Touzani
• Queer Lion (Best LGBTQ Film): On the Road by David Pablos
• Venice Classics Best Documentary: Mata Hari by Joe Beshenkovsky and James A. Smith (USA)
• Venice Classics Best Restored Film: Bashu the Little Stranger by Bahram Beyzaie (Iran)
• Venice Immersive Grand Jury Prize: The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up by Singing Chen and Shuping Lee
• Honorary Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement award: Werner Herzog

Venice 2025 balanced introspective artistry with urgent global stories. While Jarmusch's win honored effortless craftsmanship, films such as The Smashing Machine and La Grazia generated awards buzz. Both were discussed as potential award contenders.

High-profile debuts, like Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice and Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia, left the festival empty-handed but are hailed as best-of-fest, a confirmed milestone for Venice as a springboard for Oscar nominations, with 90 in the last three years.

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