Movies that Matter: The Voice of Hind Rajab
Cinema Forum Groningen
Nieuwe Markt 1, 9712KN Groningen GroningenSix-year old Palestinian Hind Rajab regains her voice. Director Kaouther Ben Hania reconstructs the shocking, true events surrounding her death using the original phone calls between Hind and emergency services. An urgent, confronting, and unique cinematic experience.
January 29, 2024. The volunteers of the Red Crescent receive an emergency call. A six-year-old girl, Hind Rajab, is trapped in a car under fire in Gaza and is begging for help. While the rescue workers try to keep her on the phone, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. But without authorization from the Israeli army, no vehicle can be allowed through. They wait for hours for an answer, but in the end, all help comes too late. Hind’s voice remains as testimony. The scenes in the emergency call center are reconstructed and staged, based on eyewitness accounts and transcripts; the voices on the recordings are real. Kaouther Ben Hania: “This story is about our shared responsibility (…) and how the silence of the world is part of the violence.”
The Voice of Hind Rajab won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and the Grand Prix for Best Film at Film Fest Ghent. The film is also Tunisia’s submission for the Oscars, giving Kaouther Ben Hania another chance at an Academy Award - after her previous nominations for Four Daughters and The Man Who Sold His Skin.