Hind Rajab Film Moves Venice Audience
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” Moves Venice Audience to Tears
VENICE — The premiere of The Voice of Hind Rajab, a docu-drama based on real events from January 2024, left audiences and journalists in tears at the Venice Film Festival.
Franco-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania and her cast, dressed in black, shared the emotional moment, receiving applause, cheers, and chants of “Free Palestine!” at the festival’s 1,032-seat main cinema.
“We see that the narrative all around the world treats those dying in Gaza as collateral damage,” Ben Hania told reporters before the screening. “That’s dehumanizing, and that’s why cinema and art are so important—to give these people a voice and a face.”
The film tells the harrowing story of Hind Rajab Hamada, who was fleeing Israeli military fire in Gaza City with six relatives when their car was attacked. Hind, the sole survivor, made desperate calls to the Red Crescent rescue service, recordings of which sparked international outrage.
A-list names backed the project as executive producers, including actors Joaquin Phoenix—who attended the premiere—and Brad Pitt, along with directors Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest) and Alfonso Cuarón (Roma). “I never thought this would be possible,” Ben Hania said of her high-profile supporters.
Its debut coincided with warnings from a senior Israeli military official that a new offensive around Gaza City could displace one million Palestinians.
The film combines real audio recordings of Hind’s frantic calls with a dramatized portrayal of the Red Crescent team coordinating her rescue. “It is dramatization, but very close to what they experienced,” Ben Hania said. Tragically, Hind and two ambulance staff were eventually killed.
In the film, a terrified Hind can be heard pleading, “Please come to me, please come. I’m scared,” as gunfire erupts in the background. Though the film describes her as six years old, Gaza health records list her age as five.
Critics have praised the film’s emotional impact. Deadline suggested it could become “the lightning rod that supporters of the Gaza cause are waiting for,” while Vogue tipped it for Venice’s top prize. Variety highlighted the “shattering” audio footage but questioned the mix of documentary and dramatized material.
The Gaza conflict has loomed large at the festival, with thousands of protesters marching at the entrance and nearly 2,000 cinema professionals signing an open letter urging organizers to denounce the Israeli government.
Hind’s mother, Wissam Hamada, expressed hope that the film would help bring an end to the war. “The whole world has left us to die, to go hungry, to live in fear, and to be forcibly displaced,” she told AFP from Gaza City, where she lives with her five-year-old son.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israeli bombardment has killed at least 63,633 Palestinians, mostly civilians, figures the United Nations considers reliable. The Israeli military said Hind’s death is “still being reviewed,” but provided no further details and has not launched a formal investigation.
Tensions in the film industry over the conflict have been growing. Hundreds of actors and directors signed a letter during Cannes in May, criticizing the industry’s “passivity” amid the war. The festival began under the shadow of the killing of Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, whose documentary had been selected for a sidebar screening. A day after her selection, an Israeli airstrike killed Hassouna and ten relatives in northern Gaza.
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