“The Voice of Hind Rajab” Makes History at Venice Film Fest with 23-Minute Ovation

The Venice Film Festival is known for glitz, glamour, and powerful cinema. But this week, the festival paused for something different: the haunting voice of a child. The Voice of Hind Rajab, a docu-drama centered on the final plea of a six-year-old Gaza girl, stunned the crowd into tears and earned a record 23-minute standing ovation — the longest in the festival’s history.

As Palestinian flags waved inside the theatre and chants of “Free, Free Palestine” echoed, the audience bore witness not just to a film, but to a tragedy replayed in raw detail.

The Voice That Was Never Saved

At the heart of the documentary is Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl trapped in a car in Gaza City on January 29, 2024. Her aunt, uncle, and three cousins were killed instantly by Israeli fire. Hind survived the initial attack, but was left alone, terrified, and surrounded by the bodies of her family.

From inside that car, Hind made desperate calls to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Recordings from that night, which form the backbone of the film, captured her sobbing voice as she begged for rescue:
“Please come to me, please come. I’m scared.”

For over three hours, Red Crescent operators tried to calm her, even as gunfire rattled in the background. Eventually, Israeli forces allowed an ambulance to approach. But just as rescuers reached the car, communication with Hind was cut off.

Days later, her body was found. She had died along with her relatives. The two ambulance workers who attempted to save her were also killed; their destroyed vehicle was discovered nearby.

Cinema as Witness

The film’s director, Franco-Tunisian Kaouther Ben Hania, said she wanted to challenge the way deaths in Gaza are often reduced to statistics.

“The narrative from the media was that of ‘collateral damage,’” Ben Hania explained before the screening. “I think this is so dehumanising. That’s why cinema, art, and every form of expression are crucial — to give these people a voice and a face.”

A Mother’s Grief, A Call to the World

For Hind’s mother, Wissam Hamada, the film is more than art — it’s a lifeline. Speaking to AFP from Gaza City, where she now lives with her five-year-old son, she said:
“The whole world has left us to die, to go hungry, to live in fear and to be forcibly displaced without doing anything.”

Hamada hopes the global attention around the film will do what politics has not: push for an end to the war.