The Doha Film Festival opened powerfully with the screening of The Voice of Hind Rajab, an award-winning film based on the heartbreaking final phone call of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab. Hind was killed by Israeli fire in 2024 while trying to escape Gaza with her family.
Two months earlier, the film had already won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Hind’s case drew anger and sorrow across the world. She was travelling with her uncle, aunt, and cousins when their car came under attack. Hind survived the initial hit and managed to call Red Crescent volunteers for help. Despite her desperate call, she was later killed by Israeli fire.
The film is directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania. It recreates the real events while using Hind’s actual voice throughout the movie. The entire phone conversation between Hind and the Red Crescent volunteers is included.
The film also shows dramatised scenes of the Red Crescent office as volunteers spoke to the terrified child. While the actors’ performances are strong, the most emotional part for the audience is Hind’s real voice. Her frightened pleas reflect the cries of many Palestinian children. Gunfire from Israeli tanks can be heard in the background of the call.
At the film’s opening, Hind’s mother spoke to the audience. She said, “Since Hind died, I still look for her. I hear her voice every day. Her voice represents all the children of Gaza. Save the children of Gaza before the last light goes out.” She explained that she has not watched the film and cannot watch it because it is too painful. “I want the children to live, not become martyrs,” she added.
During a media talk, director Ben Hania said she had been working on another film when she first heard about Hind’s story. Watching the suffering in Gaza made her question the purpose of cinema. “I heard her voice, and it stayed with me. It felt like she was asking me to help,” she said.
She contacted the Red Crescent, who let her listen to the full recording. At first, she considered making a documentary, but she felt that a feature film would have a stronger emotional impact. She noted that Al Jazeera had already produced a documentary on Hind’s case.
Explaining why she chose to use Hind’s real voice instead of an actor’s, Ben Hania said, “Her voice was alive. It needed to be there. I didn’t want to only show what happened—I wanted people to feel it.”
When asked why she focused on one child’s story while thousands of children were dying in Gaza, she said that individual stories help people understand the bigger picture. “Gaza was calling for help. The story of this one child leads to many other stories,” she said.