Why ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ left Venice Film Festival in tears – Watch here
Over one thousand present at the Venice Film Festival 2025 Wednesday September 3, 2025 were in tears, later seen giving a standing ovation after 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' recreated how the 6-year-old Palestinian girl was brazenly killed by the Israeli occupation forces last January
Venice Lido: Over one thousand present at the Venice Film Festival 2025 Wednesday September 3, 2025 were in tears, later seen giving a standing ovation after 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' recreated how the 6-year-old Palestinian girl was brazenly killed by the Israeli occupation forces last January.
Hind's battle with life
Hind Rajab, her uncle, aunt and three of her cousins were killed on January 29, 2024 by gunfire and shrapnel from tanks shells while fleeing the neighbourhood, which Israel had instructed them to do.
Encircled by the Israeli tanks, badly injured Hind and her 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamadeh, somehow contacted the Red Crescent on phone. They told the Red Crescent about the brutal murder of their family members and pleaded them for help.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) released the audio recording of the call and some of Hind’s subsequent three-hour phone conversation with dispatchers in which she pleaded for help.
The last words of Hind Rajab, her pleas for help when re-played at the Venice Film Festival in Venice Lido, Italy. The gut-wrenching new film was given a 23-minute standing ovation after its premiere at the star-studded film festival.
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” Premiere at Venice
Much of the audience and many journalists were seen in tears and sobbing as “The Voice of Hind Rajab” was screened for the first time at Venice.
Franco-Tunisian Director Kaouther Ben Hania and her cast, all dressed in black, were also in tears as they soaked in applause, cheers and shouts of “Free Palestine” at the 1,032 seat main festival cinema.
“We see that the narrative all around the world is that those dying in Gaza are collateral damage, in the media. And I think this is so dehumanizing, and that’s why cinema, art and every kind of expression is very important to give those people a voice and face”, Ben Hania told journalists ahead of the premiere.
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“The Voice of Hind Rajab” has plenty of famous names attached as executive producers — from actors Joaquin Phoenix, who attended the premiere, and Brad Pitt to Oscar winning directors Jonathan Glazer (“The Zone of Interest”) and Mexico’s Alfonso Cuaron (“Roma”).
“I’m very happy, and I never in my life thought that could be possible,” Ben Hania said of her A-list backers.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has accused Israel of deliberately targeting the ambulance it sent to rescue Rajab.
Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour had played the audio recording of the call made by Hind Rajab to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society before she was killed by Israeli forces at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on February 25, 2025.
Also Listen: Encircled by Israeli tanks, injured Hind Rajab (6) recites Holy Quran
The Israel Occupation Forces (IDF), few weeks after Rajab’s brutal murder, said that its investigation suggested no troops were in the area when she was killed.
However, a Washington Post report published after the IDF statement found that Israeli armored vehicles were, in fact, operating in the area at the time, and that the gunfire heard in the Red Crescent recordings was consistent with IDF weapons.
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