Elham Asaad Buaras
For 23 minutes, the audience at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival sat riveted, rising to their feet in sobs and applause, as The Voice of Hind Rajab played its haunting tribute. Directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, the film recounts the harrowing story of five-year-old Hind Rajab, killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year, already hailed as “the most powerful and urgent entry of this year’s festival.”
The film reconstructs Hind’s final, desperate phone call in January 2024. Trapped beneath the wreckage of a car in northern Gaza, she was the sole survivor among her uncles and four young cousins. From under the seat, she reached the Palestinian Red Crescent, pleading for help—a plea that went tragically unanswered, as both Hind and the medics attempting her rescue were killed. Ben Hania reflected on the recording: “There was something beyond her words. It was the voice of Gaza itself calling for help – and no one could reach her.”
Using a chilling blend of actual phone recordings and dramatized sequences depicting the Red Crescent team’s frantic response, the film immerses viewers in the terror of Hind’s final moments. Actor Saja Kilani observed: “The voice of Hind Rajab does not need our defence. This film is not an opinion or a fantasy. It is anchored in truth. Hind’s story carries the weight of an entire people; it is not hers alone… Beyond every number is a story that never got to be told.”
For Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees, from Jenin, the experience was deeply personal: “Hearing Hind’s voice took me straight back to my childhood. I felt as if I had died a thousand times. This wasn’t acting. This was my life.” Hind’s mother, Wissam Hamada, speaking from Gaza City where she lives with her five-year-old son, expressed hope that the film might help end the war: “The whole world has left us to die, to go hungry, to live in fear and to be forcibly displaced without doing anything.”
The premiere drew high-profile supporters, including Brad Pitt, Jonathan Glazer, Joaquin Phoenix, Alfonso Cuarón, and Rooney Mara, all executive producers. Phoenix and Mara attended in Venice and embraced the cast after the screening, underscoring global solidarity with Hind’s story.
Photo: Clara Khoury, Amer Hlehel, and Motaz Malhees (holding a photo of Hind Rajab) walked the red carpet for The Voice of Hind Rajab during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2025, in Venice, Italy. (Credit: Prima Barol/AA)
