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Filmmaker shifts focus after hearing Gaza girl's emergency call
Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania halted her upcoming project after encountering a distressing 2024 phone recording of six-year-old Hind Rajab pleading for help while trapped under Israeli fire in Gaza City. The girl, her relatives, and two paramedics sent to rescue her were later killed.
Film centers on real audio of Hind's final moments
Ben Hania's Oscar-shortlisted docudrama, The Voice of Hind Rajab, premiered in UK cinemas last week. The film blends the girl's actual emergency calls with dramatized scenes of Palestinian Red Crescent volunteers in the West Bank attempting to coordinate her rescue.
"It haunted me. I was really angry, I was sad, I felt helpless," Ben Hania told BBC News. "I asked myself, what can I do? I'm a filmmaker, so I can do movies."
Kaouther Ben Hania, filmmaker
The director described the project as an effort to "bear witness" and prevent complicity through inaction. She received permission from Hind's mother, Wesam, before production.
Investigations point to Israeli tank fire
Hind and her family were killed when their car was struck during an attempted escape from Gaza City bombing. An ambulance dispatched to save her was also shelled. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initially denied troops were in the area but later acknowledged conducting "raids on terror targets" in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood where Hind made her call.
Forensic Architecture, in collaboration with NGO Earshot and Al Jazeera journalists, concluded the damage to both the car and ambulance matched Israeli tank fire. The UN cited Hind's case in a report accusing Israel of war crimes, which Israel denies. The IDF told the BBC the incident remains under review by its Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism.
Mixed reactions to docudrama approach
The film's hybrid format-combining real audio with reenactments-has drawn praise for its emotional impact but also criticism over ethical concerns. Variety's Guy Lodge called the central recording "impossible not to be moved by" but questioned the execution. The Telegraph's Robbie Collins awarded four stars, writing the film "transcends shock value" and presents an "ethical dilemma."
Lead actor Motaz Malhees, who plays call center worker Omar, described suffering panic attacks during filming, saying one scene felt like "a real conversation with a child."
Global recognition and Oscar hopes
The Voice of Hind Rajab received a 23-minute standing ovation at its Venice Film Festival premiere in September, where it won the grand jury prize. Hollywood figures including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, and Rooney Mara served as executive producers. Phoenix and Mara attended the premiere.
Ben Hania, a two-time Oscar nominee, hopes the film secures a best international feature nomination this week to amplify Hind's story globally. "We don't have stars, it's not a feel-good movie," she said. "It's important to not look away, because this is not a story: this is history in the making."
