4.9.2025
‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’, a film on the story of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed during Israel’s invasion of Gaza received a record 22-minute-long standing ovation after its premier at the Venice film festival.
‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’, directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, left much of the audience in tears during its screening on Wednesday night, with many seen holding up Palestinian flags and chanting ‘Free Palestine’.
At one point cast member Motaz Malhees ran down from the stage to the audience and took a Palestinian flag and began brandishing it as members of the public cheered.
Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, who are executive producers on the film, were photographed on the red carpet holding up a photo of Hind Rajab and were present at the press conference to show their support.
Filmmakers say the movie is a retelling of the final phone call of Hind Rajab to operators from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in January 2024 after she became trapped in the wreckage of a car under Israeli fire, where her relatives already lay dead.
Her body was found days later along with those of her family in the car.
‘Hind’s story carries the weight of an entire people,’ one of the actors, Saja Kilani, told reporters last night in a statement she read out on behalf of the whole cast and crew ahead of the screening.
‘The real question is, how have we let a child beg for life? No one can live in peace while even one child is forced to plead for survival. … Let Hind Rajab’s voice echo around the world,’ Kilani said. agency reports
The cast of 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' pictured on the red carpet at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.