At the 2025 Venice Film Festival, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania premiered The Voice of Hind Rajab, a hybrid drama‑documentary reconstructing the January 2024 death of six‑year‑old Hind Rajab in Gaza; the screening reduced many viewers to tears and drew a reported 23‑minute standing ovation.
Key Takeaways
- The film retells the January 2024 killing of six‑year‑old Hind Rajab in Gaza’s Tel al‑Hawa neighbourhood.
- Ben Hania uses authentic phone recordings of Hind’s calls to Palestinian Red Crescent volunteers as the film’s audio backbone.
- Actors portray the emergency‑centre workers while Hind’s real voice remains on the recordings.
- A nearby ambulance was reportedly eight minutes away but could not move until military clearance and intermediaries agreed a safe route.
- The film blends staged scenes with documentary footage and ends with interviews and home videos of Hind.
- Executive producers include Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Jonathan Glazer and Alfonso Cuarón; runtime is 1hr 29m.
Verified Facts
Kaouther Ben Hania, known for previous Oscar‑recognised work (The Man Who Sold His Skin, 2020; Four Daughters, 2024), frames The Voice of Hind Rajab around the real audio of emergency calls made in January 2024. The recordings of Hind’s voice are integral: actors portray responders in the Red Crescent emergency centre while the child’s original dialogue plays over the action.
On the night in question, Hind, then six, was in a car in Tel al‑Hawa with relatives when the vehicle was struck. According to the accounts used in the film, Hind was the only survivor and remained trapped among the wreckage as volunteers tried to coordinate rescue efforts.
The film depicts a crucial operational obstacle: an ambulance parked roughly eight minutes away could not immediately reach the scene because military clearance and an agreed corridor through damaged streets were required. The Red Crescent’s communications with military actors are shown as routed through intermediaries rather than direct contact.
Actors in the main ensemble include Motaj Malhees, Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury and Amer Hlehel; the piece avoids depicting the exact moment of Hind’s death and instead concentrates on those trying to help and their helplessness as the situation unfolds.
Context & Impact
The screening’s intense emotional effect—many viewers cried and remained quiet afterwards—reflects both the immediacy of Hind’s voice and the film’s framing as a tense, time‑bound rescue attempt. By using real audio, Ben Hania creates a continuous sense of urgency and intimacy that turns procedural coordination into personal tragedy.
At Venice the film prompted headlines and award speculation. Its blend of staged performance and archival material raises questions about representation and ethics in re‑creating recent, traumatic events; Ben Hania largely refrains from explicit political commentary, focusing instead on the human and procedural dimensions of the incident.
Possible short‑ and mid‑term effects include renewed international attention to the circumstances surrounding civilian rescue operations in conflict zones, and a broader public conversation about how emergency systems operate under fire and through intermediaries.
Official Statements
“Please come get me. I’m scared.”
Phone recording heard in the film
Unconfirmed
- Deadline reported the Venice premiere earned a 23‑minute standing ovation; that duration has been widely cited but not independently verified as a festival record.
- Predictions that the film is almost certain to receive an Academy Award nomination are speculative and should be treated as probable but not factual.
Bottom Line
The Voice of Hind Rajab is a formally inventive and emotionally wrenching film that foregrounds the lived experience of a single, urgent emergency call to explore wider failures and constraints faced by aid workers in conflict. Expect it to continue provoking discussion about cinema’s role in depicting recent trauma, and to figure in year‑end awards conversation.