Venice Film Festival 2025: Father Mother Sister Brother takes Golden Lion

Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother won the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival 2025, while Gaza docu-drama The Voice of Hind Rajab earned the prestigious Grand Jury Prize.

WEBDESK, Sept. 6, 2025 — In a stirring closing to the 82nd Venice Film Festival, Jim Jarmusch’s quietly powerful Father Mother Sister Brother claimed the Golden Lion for Best Film, delighting audiences with its nuanced exploration of family dynamics across New Jersey, Dublin, and Paris.

Meanwhile, Kaouther Ben Hania’s harrowing Gaza-set docudrama, The Voice of Hind Rajab—a searing depiction of a young Palestinian girl’s final call—was awarded the Grand Jury Prize, earning one of the event’s longest standing ovations.

In other highlights, Benny Safdie earned the Silver Lion for Best Director with The Smashing Machine, featuring a gripping Dwayne Johnson performance. Xin Zhilei and Toni Servillo won the Volpi Cups for Best Actress and Best Actor respectively, for The Sun Rises on Us All and La Grazia.

This year’s festival brought together artful storytelling and urgent political narratives, proving Venice remains a vital stage for bold cinema and emotional resonance.

Full List of Winners – Venice 2025

Main Competition (Golden Lion Section):

• Golden Lion for Best Film: Father Mother Sister Brother – Jim Jarmusch
• Grand Jury Prize: The Voice of Hind Rajab – Kaouther Ben Hania
• Silver Lion for Best Director: Benny Safdie – The Smashing Machine
• Special Jury Prize: Below the Clouds (Sotto le nuvole) – Gianfranco Rosi
• Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Xin Zhilei – The Sun Rises on Us All
• Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Toni Servillo – La Grazia
• Best Screenplay: À pied d’œuvre (At Work) – Valérie Donzelli & Gilles Marchand
• Marcello Mastroianni Award (Best Young Performer): Luna Wedler – Silent Friend
• Lifetime Achievement Golden Lions: Werner Herzog and Kim Novak(Vogue, Wikipedia)

Orizzonti (Horizons Section):

• Best Film: En el Camino – David Pablos
• Best Director: Anuparna Roy – Songs of Forgotten Trees
• Special Jury Prize: Lost Land (Harà Watan) – Akio Fujimoto
• Best Actress: Benedetta Porcaroli – The Kidnapping of Arabella
• Best Actor: Giacomo Covi – A Year of School
• Best Screenplay: The Ivy (Hiedra) – Ana Cristina Barragán
• Best Short Film: Without Kelly – Lovisa Sirén

Other Honors:

• Armani Beauty Audience Award: Calle Málaga – Maryam Touzani
• Luigi De Laurentiis Award (Debut Film): Short Summer – Nastia Korkia
• Venice Classics – Best Documentary on Cinema: Mata Hari – Joe Beshenkovsky & James Smith
• Venice Classics – Best Restored Film: Bashu, the Little Stranger – Bahram Beyzaie
• Venice Immersive Grand Prize: The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up – Singing Chen & Shuping Lee
• Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize: Less Than 5gr of Saffron – Négar Motevalymeidanshah
• Venice Immersive Achievement Prize: A Long Goodbye – Victor Maes & Kate Voet(Wikipedia)