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Doha Film Festival 2025 | ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ Director: 'There is Nothing Stronger Than Cinema for Empathy'
The film, centred on the final moments of a six-year-old Palestinian girl trapped inside a car under military fire, drew a visibly emotional response from its makers as they recounted the responsibility of bringing her story to screen.
The mood inside the Doha Film Festival’s press briefing room shifted unmistakably as the cast and crew of The Voice of Hind Rajab assembled to discuss the Gaza-set docu-drama that opened the festival on Thursday. The film, centred on the final moments of a six-year-old Palestinian girl trapped inside a car under military fire, drew a visibly emotional response from its makers as they recounted the responsibility of bringing her story to the screen.
The Voice of Hind Rajab follows the frantic efforts of Palestinian Red Crescent volunteers responding to an emergency call from Hind Rajab. The recording of her real-life plea for help — captured moments before she was reportedly killed by the Israel Defense Forces — forms the crux of the film.
Director Kaouther Ben Hania was joined at the panel by actors, producer Nadim Cheikhrouha, and several members of the Red Crescent team depicted in the film. Many struggled to maintain composure as they revisited the incident that happened 21 months ago.
Ben Hania said the film is not about “explanation” of the events, but a call for empathy and an attempt to not let the audiences forget the voice of Hind, the slain six-year-old. “There is nothing stronger than cinema for empathy. It’s not about explanation; it’s about impact,” the filmmaker added.
The drama unfolds entirely within the Palestinian Red Crescent’s operations room, a creative choice that Ben Hania said was by design. “I could have made it from Hind’s perspective or her mother’s, but I chose a single space because it was the most honest frame for what happened. The story was already there; reality went beyond fiction.”
The film intertwines the actors’ performances with the real emergency calls made by Hind, which Ben Hania chose not to recreate. “It would have been in poor taste. Her voice is alive and that is the heart of the film. When I first heard it, I felt she was talking to me, irrational as that is. That voice stayed with me and became the centre of everything,” Ben Hania added.
Before its World Premeire at the Venice Film Festival in September, The Voice of Hind Rajab onboarded several movie heavyweights as executiveproducers, including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuarón and Jonathan Glazer among others.
Producer Cheikrouha said the team had some “initial financing” and as they advanced, they sought support to amplify Hind’s voice. “Some global names joined as executive producers not for funding, and they amplified the film’s reach."
Representatives of the Palestine Red Crescent claimed that since the war escalated, they have lost dozens of paramedics and several ambulances have been destroyed. “Yet our duty remains: to carry voices like Hind’s and preserve the dignity of those we serve.”