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The anguished final pleas of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl trapped in a car under Israeli fire are retold in “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” a searing new film that received a rapturous premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday.

“Hind’s story carries the weight of an entire people,” one of the actors, Saja Kilani, told reporters in a statement she read out on behalf of the whole cast and crew ahead of the screening.

The true-life drama focuses on telephone operators from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society who tried for hours to reassure the trapped Hind Rajab as she begged to be rescued from the car, where her aunt, uncle and three cousins already lay dead.

“I’m so scared, please come,” the little girl says, with the original recordings of her increasingly desperate calls to the dispatchers used to powerful effect throughout the film.

“The real question is, how have we let a child beg for life? No one can live in peace while even one child is forced to plead for survival. … Let Hind Rajab’s voice echo around the world,” Kilani said.

After a three-hour wait, the Red Crescent finally got the green light from Israel to dispatch an ambulance to save Hind. But contact with the girl and the rescuers themselves was cut just after the ambulance arrived at the scene.

Days later, the girl’s body was found along with those of her relatives in the car. The remains of the two dead ambulance workers were also recovered from their bombed-out vehicle.

The Israel Defence Forces initially said its troops had not been within firing range of the car. However, independent investigations challenged this assertion and a subsequent UN report said the IDF had destroyed Rajab’s car and killed the two medics who were trying to save her.

Asked about the killings this week, the IDF said the incident, which happened on January 29, 2024, was still under review and declined further comment.

Standing Ovation

The film received a thunderous, 24-minute standing ovation at its premiere, by far the longest of this festival to date, making it the clear crowd favourite to win the prestigious Golden Lion award, which will be awarded on September 6.

“Free, free Palestine,” people in the audience chanted.

The movie has also attracted some top Hollywood names as executive producers, giving it added industry heft, including actors Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, who were both in Venice on Wednesday to support the production, as well as Brad Pitt.

Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, who also wrote the screenplay, said Hind’s voice transcended a single tragedy.

“When I heard the first time the voice of Hind, there was something more than her voice. It was the very voice of Gaza asking for help. … It was anger and helplessness that gave birth to this movie,” she told reporters.

The IDF invaded the Gaza Strip after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. More than 63,000 people living in Gaza have died in the fighting, Gaza health authorities say.

“The narrative around the world is that those dying in Gaza are collateral damage. I think this is so dehumanizing, and that’s why cinema and art are important, to give those people a voice and a face. We are saying enough, enough of this genocide,” Ben Hania said.

The world’s biggest academic association of genocide scholars announced this week that it had passed a resolution saying the legal criteria had been met to establish that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, something Israel denies.

The actors playing the Red Crescent dispatchers said they only heard Rajab’s recordings when they were on the set, making the filming an extremely emotional process.

“There were two times where I couldn’t keep filming. I had a panic attack,” Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees said.

Pioneering fashion designer Giorgio Armani has been remembered as a “true friend”, “an immense talent” and “a visionary” following his death at the age of 91.

Designers, celebrities, politicians and artists were among those paying tribute after the Armani Group announced his death on Thursday.

“The world lost a giant today. He made history and will be remembered forever,” wrote Donatella Versace on Instagram.

Long-serving Vogue editor Anna Wintour reflected on Armani’s wide influence: “For him fashion wasn’t one thing: it was also film, music, sport, art, design, and architecture, and he left his mark in all these worlds.”

Fashion designer Valentino Garavani described Armani as “a friend, never a rival … I can only bow to his immense talent.”

Ralph Lauren called him “a designer who never strayed from his vision … a man who loved his family and friends, and his homeland in such a special way.”

Prada group’s Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli said Armani was “a Maestro recognised for his elegance and creativity, and an undisputed protagonist of Italian and international fashion.”

Julia Roberts, whose steel grey oversized Armani suit teamed with a white shirt and tie became one of the most memorable Golden Globes looks of all time, wrote on social media Armani was “A true friend. A legend,” adding a broken heart emoji.

In a series of posts on X, Russell Crowe recounted how losing his bags on the way to the Cannes film festival in 1997 led to him discovering the designer. “I adored him. He was so kind. So many significant moments in my life, awards, wedding, Wimbledon … all in Armani. What a life he had, from his beginnings to his glory.”

Jessica Chastain shared a memory of meeting her husband at an Armani show in Paris, while Leonardo DiCaprio described Armani as “a visionary whose influence reached far beyond design”.

Cate Blanchett said: “The private man leaves a void that is impossible to fill.”

Victoria Beckham said on Instagram: “The fashion world has lost a true legend in Giorgio Armani – a visionary designer whose legacy will live on forever. I feel honoured to have called him a friend.”

Martin Scorsese, who directed the 1990 documentary Made in Milan offering a behind-the-scenes look at fashion designer, said Armani “was a real artist, and a great one – people use the term ‘timeless’ quite often, but in his case it happens to be true”.

Michelle Pfeiffer said she was “heartbroken” to hear of the designer’s passing.

Formula One driver Charles Leclerc, who starred in an Armani campaign, said it had been “a great honour to have had the chance to meet and work with such an amazing person”.

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, praised Armani as “an icon, a tireless worker, a symbol of the best of Italy.”

Known as the “king of the blazer”, Armani pioneered soft power dressing and revolutionised red-carpet fashion. He dressed stars from Diane Keaton and Jodie Foster to Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, and his designs became synonymous with elegance on the stages of the Academy Awards and Golden Globes.

Cindy Crawford, Diane Kruger, Morgan Freeman and Samuel L Jackson were among others paying tribute.