A haunting audio recording of a five-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, pleading for help as she bled out among the corpses of her relatives after an Israeli tank targeted their car, has led to a powerful new film by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania. The voice on the recording, which was made just hours before Hind's death, is one that haunts Ben Hania to this day.
When she first heard Hind's voice in February 2024, while scrolling through social media at Los Angeles airport, it brought her to a sudden halt as travellers milled around her. The five-year-old's desperate cries for help cut through the noise, leaving an indelible mark on Ben Hania's conscience. For her, "it felt like she was asking me to save her", with Hind's voice sparking an overwhelming sense of sadness and helplessness.
Ben Hania immediately cleared her schedule to start working on a new film based around Hind's voice, pouring over the circumstances of the recording and listening to the full three-hour call. The experience was "one of the most difficult things I've heard in my life", with the knowledge of how it would end weighing heavily on her.
After seeking permission from Hind's mother, Wissam Hamada, who had lost her daughter to Israeli aggression, Ben Hania set out to create a film that would do justice to Hind's story. The result is "The Voice of Hind Rajab", a dramatic recreation of the tragedy that unfolded in the narrow confines of the Red Crescent call centre.
The film tells the story of four emergency workers who responded to Hind's calls for help, with their voices and actions brought to life by talented actors. Despite knowing how the story ends, the scene remains heart-wrenching, highlighting the torment of those who knew they were too late to save the young girl.
Ben Hania's approach is a deliberate attempt to bridge the gap between drama and documentary, creating a film that stays faithful to her initial feelings of helplessness. By using Hind's voice as the heartbeat of the film, Ben Hania aims to convey the collective feeling of despair and numbness that has been a response to the ongoing violence in Gaza.
The film premiered at the Venice film festival, where it received a 23-minute standing ovation – the longest in the festival's history. It was there that Ben Hania finally felt she had managed to pierce the global apathy that has shrouded two years of slaughter in Gaza, bringing attention to Hind's tragic story.
As Ben Hania notes, "So many children have been killed that we are entering a zone of amnesia and insensitivity. We're numb, but cinema, literature and art can change things." By using her craft to convey the humanity behind Hind's voice, Ben Hania hopes to inspire a new level of empathy – one that is essential in breaking down our collective numbness to this senseless violence.
When she first heard Hind's voice in February 2024, while scrolling through social media at Los Angeles airport, it brought her to a sudden halt as travellers milled around her. The five-year-old's desperate cries for help cut through the noise, leaving an indelible mark on Ben Hania's conscience. For her, "it felt like she was asking me to save her", with Hind's voice sparking an overwhelming sense of sadness and helplessness.
Ben Hania immediately cleared her schedule to start working on a new film based around Hind's voice, pouring over the circumstances of the recording and listening to the full three-hour call. The experience was "one of the most difficult things I've heard in my life", with the knowledge of how it would end weighing heavily on her.
After seeking permission from Hind's mother, Wissam Hamada, who had lost her daughter to Israeli aggression, Ben Hania set out to create a film that would do justice to Hind's story. The result is "The Voice of Hind Rajab", a dramatic recreation of the tragedy that unfolded in the narrow confines of the Red Crescent call centre.
The film tells the story of four emergency workers who responded to Hind's calls for help, with their voices and actions brought to life by talented actors. Despite knowing how the story ends, the scene remains heart-wrenching, highlighting the torment of those who knew they were too late to save the young girl.
Ben Hania's approach is a deliberate attempt to bridge the gap between drama and documentary, creating a film that stays faithful to her initial feelings of helplessness. By using Hind's voice as the heartbeat of the film, Ben Hania aims to convey the collective feeling of despair and numbness that has been a response to the ongoing violence in Gaza.
The film premiered at the Venice film festival, where it received a 23-minute standing ovation – the longest in the festival's history. It was there that Ben Hania finally felt she had managed to pierce the global apathy that has shrouded two years of slaughter in Gaza, bringing attention to Hind's tragic story.
As Ben Hania notes, "So many children have been killed that we are entering a zone of amnesia and insensitivity. We're numb, but cinema, literature and art can change things." By using her craft to convey the humanity behind Hind's voice, Ben Hania hopes to inspire a new level of empathy – one that is essential in breaking down our collective numbness to this senseless violence.
I'm telling ya, this whole thing feels like a setup 
. First, we got this audio recording of the little girl's plea for help and now some director is making a film out of it... just so we can feel bad about ourselves again 
. It's all about creating a narrative that resonates with us, you know? The timing, too... February 2024, right after the Israeli tank incident... feels like they're trying to keep our emotions in check 
.
Maybe we should be asking ourselves why this girl's story is being amplified now and not sooner... 
like what took so long? and also how did they get permission from her mom? seems kinda weird that it's only now we're hearing about it 
anyway, i guess it's better than nothing. Ben Hania does seem like a nice person, using Hind's voice to highlight the issue 
. I can imagine how it must've affected Kaouther Ben Hania to hear that little girl's voice pleading for help, and knowing the story ends in tragedy. It's a huge responsibility to create a film based on someone's voice, but at least she's trying to bring attention to the issue.
. If cinema can change things, then this is definitely one powerful message we need right now 
.
. It's heartbreaking to think about a 5-year-old girl begging for help, knowing she won't get it 
. I think we're all at a loss for words when it comes to this tragedy, but maybe that's exactly what we need – a voice like Hind's to pierce through the apathy and inspire us to care again 
