Story of Gaza’s Hind Rajab to echo through Venice Film Festival
Festival organisers say docu-drama, The Voice of Hind Rajab, could leave one of the strongest impressions in a line-up packed with Oscar hopefuls.
Hollywood’s biggest names are throwing their weight behind a film that’s been making waves even before its premiere. The Voice of Hind Rajab, a drama reconstructing the harrowing story of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza, has secured Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara and a slate of other industry heavyweights as executive producers, per the Hollywood Reporter.
The project, directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, will premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival on September 3, before heading to Toronto for its North American debut.
Ben Hania is no stranger to the award circuit. Her 2023 documentary-drama Four Daughters was an Oscar nominee, and her 2020 feature The Man Who Sold His Skin was also a Best International Feature contender.
However, it’s the subject matter that has drawn both international attention and political urgency. The film revisits the killing of Hind, who was trapped in a car under Israeli fire with her family in Gaza City in January last year.
Voice recordings between Hind and Red Crescent volunteers, who desperately tried to keep her calm and alive until an ambulance could reach her, serve as the backbone of the drama. Investigations by The Washington Post, Sky News, and Forensic Architecture have since challenged Israel’s claims of having no troops in the area, pointing instead to Israeli tanks and hundreds of bullet holes in the family car.
Backing the film alongside Pitt, Phoenix, and Mara are Plan B producers Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Roma director Alfonso Cuarón, and The Zone of Interest filmmaker Jonathan Glazer. Institutional support has come from Britain’s Film4 as well as Saudi-owned MBC Studios.
Ahead of its premiere, The Voice of Hind Rajab has already secured distribution deals across Europe, with CAA Media Finance handling North America. The cast includes Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Clara Khoury and Amer Hlehel.
The Venice festival is opening this year against a charged backdrop. Just this week, Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital killed at least 20 people, including health workers and five journalists.
Hundreds of filmmakers have signed an open letter urging the Venice Film Festival to condemn the genocide.
The festival kicked off yesterday with a protest outside the main building. Protestors held up a “Free Palestine” banner. A demonstration to condemn Israel’s war on Gaza and its aid blockade that has led to a famine has been called for Saturday in Venice.
Israel’s nearly two-year bombardment of Gaza also featured prominently during the Cannes film festival in May, where hundreds of movie figures signed a petition saying they were “ashamed” of their industry’s “passivity” about the war.