Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab Wins Silver Lion, Amplifying Gaza’s Cry for Help

 

 

 

Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania has won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, the Venice Film Festival’s second-most prestigious award, for her harrowing docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab.

 

The film revisits the tragic events of January 29, 2024, when five-year-old Hind Rajab became the lone survivor after her family’s car was struck by Israeli fire while fleeing Gaza. Trapped and terrified, Hind phoned the Palestinian Red Crescent begging for rescue. Volunteers stayed on the line and dispatched an ambulance, but before it could reach her, both the child and the medics came under attack.

 

Accepting the award, Ben Hania paid tribute to first responders: she dedicated the honor to the Palestinian Red Crescent, praising the “heroes” working on the frontlines of humanitarian relief.

 

“Hind’s voice was a cry for rescue the entire world could hear but no one answered,” Hania said.