Copyright Variety
When Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab” premiered at the Venice Film Festival, the ovation lasted nearly 25 minutes. The Tunisian director, whose two previous films — “The Man Who Sold His Skin” and “Four Daughters” — were Oscar nominated — stood before an audience that knew it had witnessed something more than a movie, perhaps even a reckoning. The docudrama, which is Tunisia’s official submission for international feature at the Academy Awards, centers on a single, haunting voice: that of a 6-year-old girl trapped inside a car in Gaza, surrounded by the bodies of her family. Over the course of the film’s 90 minutes, Ben Hania reconstructs a real-life 2024 tragedy through the final recorded phone calls between Hind Rajab and the Red Crescent workers who tried to reach her before they, too, were killed. The result is one of the year’s most devastating cinematic experiences — and one of its most complicated Oscar contenders. “The Voice of Hind Rajab” is already an early standout in the race, bolstered by its Venice Silver Lion win and universal critical acclaim. But its path through the U.S. awards machine may prove as fraught as its subject matter. Trepidation about how American audiences — and distributors — might respond to a story set amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza has made the film’s rollout unusually delicate. “There’s a real sense of hesitation,” says one awards strategist who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “Distributors weigh the marketability of the film, but also the potential backlash that comes with handling something this politically charged.” Ben Hania’s movie straddles the line between documentary and drama, employing actual audio from the Red Crescent’s emergency calls and intercutting them with re-creations of the responders’ futile rescue attempts. The camera never leaves the dispatch center, allowing Rajab’s voice to carry the full weight of the story. It’s a structural gamble that pays off. For Academy voters, the film’s impact may be impossible to ignore. The piercing sound design, precise editing and Ben Hania’s unflinching direction are worthy of other category consideration. Still, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” faces a steep climb in a Hollywood ecosystem often wary of overtly political material — particularly when it involves Israel and Palestine. The film just secured U.S. distribution for a December qualifying run from Willa, the production partner’s distribution arm. But insiders say the acquisition came after weeks of waffling among major studios and streamers. “Everyone was afraid of the optics,” says one source familiar with the talks. “No one wanted to be seen as exploiting tragedy, but no one wanted to be accused of censorship either.” The film just secured U.S. distribution for a December qualifying run from Willa, the production partner’s distribution arm. But insiders say the acquisition came after weeks of waffling among major studios and streamers. “Everyone was afraid of the optics,” says one source familiar with the talks. “No one wanted to be seen as exploiting tragedy, but no one wanted to be accused of censorship either.” “The Voice of Hind Rajab” could follow that trajectory — if enough voters are willing to confront it. “The Voice of Hind Rajab” is, at its core, a film about the act of listening — to a child’s plea, to the echoes of violence, to the silence that follows. Whether Academy voters will muster the courage to do the same remains to be seen. But Ben Hania’s film has already done what cinema at its best is meant to do: bear witness, without flinching. This week’s updated Oscar predictions are below. The first charts for international feature have also launched. Other page updates are forthcoming. *** = PREDICTED WINNER (All predicted nominees below are in alphabetical order) Oscars Predictions Tracking (Nov. 6, 2025) Best Picture “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) “Bugonia” (Focus Features) “Frankenstein” (Netflix) “Hamnet” (Focus Features) “Marty Supreme” (A24) “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) *** “Sentimental Value” (Neon) “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “Train Dreams” (Netflix) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) Director Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) *** Ryan Coogler, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident” (Neon) Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value” (Neon) Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet” (Focus Features) Actor Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme” (A24) Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics) *** Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent” (Neon) Actress Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet” (Focus Features) *** Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue” (Focus Features) Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value” (Neon) Supporting Actor Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) William H. Macy, “Train Dreams” (Netflix) Paul Mescal, “Hamnet” (Focus Features) Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) *** Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value” (Neon) Supporting Actress Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value” (Neon) Ariana Grande, “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) *** Regina Hall, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) Emily Watson, “Hamnet” (Focus Features) Original Screenplay “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Robert Kaplow “Jay Kelly” (Netflix) — Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer “Marty Supreme” (A24) — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie “Sentimental Value” (Neon) — Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Ryan Coogler *** Adapted Screenplay “Bugonia” (Focus Features) — Will Tracy “Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Chloé Zhao *** “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) — Paul Thomas Anderson “Train Dreams” (Netflix) — Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix) — Rian Johnson Casting “Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Nina Gold “Marty Supreme” (A24) — Jennifer Venditti “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) — Cassandra Kulukundis “Rental Family” (Searchlight Pictures) — Kei Kawamura and Yumi Takada “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Francine Maisler *** Animated Feature “Arco” (Neon) “In Your Dreams” (Netflix) “KPop Demon Hunters” (Netflix) *** “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” (GKids) “Zootopia 2” (Walt Disney Pictures) Production Design “Frankenstein” (Netflix) “Hamnet” (Focus Features) “Marty Supreme” (A24) “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) *** Cinematography “Frankenstein” (Netflix) “Hamnet” (Focus Features) “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) *** “Train Dreams” (Netflix) Costume Design “Frankenstein” (Netflix) “Hamnet” (Focus Features) “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “The Testament of Ann Lee” (Searchlight Pictures) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) *** Film Editing “Hamnet” (Focus Features) “Marty Supreme” (A24) “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) *** “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) Makeup and Hairstyling “Frankenstein” (Netflix) *** “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “The Smashing Machine” (A24) “Weapons” (Warner Bros.) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) Sound “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) “F1” (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.) “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) *** “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) Visual Effects “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) *** “F1” (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.) “Frankenstein” (Netflix) “Superman” (Warner Bros.) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) Original Score “Bugonia” (Focus Features) — Jerskin Fendrix “Frankenstein” (Netflix) — Alexandre Desplat “Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Max Richter “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) — Jonny Greenwood “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Ludwig Göransson *** Original Song “Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless” (Greenwich Entertainment) “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” (Netflix) *** “I Lied to You” from “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “Clothed by the Sun” from “The Testament of Ann Lee” (Searchlight Pictures) “The Girl in the Bubble” from “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) Documentary Feature “The Alabama Solution” (HBO Documentary Films) “Come See Me in the Good Light” (Apple Original Films) “Cover-Up” (Netflix) “The Perfect Neighbor” (Netflix) *** “2000 Meters to Andriivka” (PBS) International Feature “It Was Just an Accident” from France (Neon) “No Other Choice” from South Korea (Neon) “The Secret Agent” from Brazil (Neon) “Sentimental Value” from Norway (Neon) *** “The Voice of Hind Rajab” from Tunisia (Willa) Top 5 projected Oscar nomination leaders (films): “One Battle After Another” (14); “Sinners” (13); “Hamnet” (12); “Wicked: For Good” (10); “Sentimental Value” (7) Top 5 projected Oscar nomination leaders (studios): Warner Bros. (31); Netflix (18); Focus Features (16); Neon (13); A24 (7)
