In a searing and emotive film, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania has brought the harrowing story of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed in the 2024 Gaza war, to the big screen. “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival to a standing ovation, is a powerful hybrid of documentary and drama that aims to honour the young victim’s memory and shed light on the human cost of the conflict.
The film centres around the distressing audio recording of Hind’s final phone call to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, in which she pleads for help as her family comes under attack. Ben Hania interweaves this harrowing testimony with a dramatised portrayal of the call centre volunteers who desperately tried to coordinate a rescue, only to witness the tragedy unfold.
The director says she was haunted by the recording when she first heard it, and felt compelled to translate that raw emotion into a cinematic experience. “I was really angry, I was sad, I felt helpless, and I hate it when I feel helpless,” she explains. “I asked myself this basic question, what can I do? I’m a filmmaker, so I can do movies.”
The film’s ensemble cast of Palestinian actors deliver powerful performances, with Motaz Malhees as the call centre worker Omar particularly noteworthy. Malhees says he suffered panic attacks during filming, as the scenes felt “like a real conversation with a child.”
Ben Hania’s approach has drawn praise and criticism in equal measure. While some reviewers have lauded the film’s ability to “provoke empathy” and confront viewers with an “ethical dilemma,” others have questioned the ethics of dramatising a real-life tragedy. The director, however, maintains that her aim is not to investigate, but to “honour the testimony” of those involved and ensure Hind’s voice is heard.
With the film shortlisted for the Best International Feature Oscar, Ben Hania hopes it will help keep the plight of Gaza in the global spotlight as the search for a lasting peace continues. “We don’t have stars, it’s not a feel-good movie,” she says. “I think it’s important to not look away, because this is not a story: this is history in the making.”
