{"id":14950,"date":"2026-03-13T14:34:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=14950"},"modified":"2026-03-13T14:34:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:34:06","slug":"from-gaza-to-la-hopes-rise-as-the-voice-of-hind-rajab-heads-to-the-oscars-cinema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=14950","title":{"rendered":"From Gaza to LA, hopes rise as The Voice of Hind Rajab heads to the Oscars | Cinema"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Voice of Hind Rajab is a call to action, its makers and supporters have told Al Jazeera, and hopes are high for the Oscar-nominated film in the run-up to Sunday\u2019s Academy Awards ceremony.<\/p>\n

The Gaza-set docudrama, which is up for Best International Feature, reconstructs Israel\u2019s killing of the five-year-old.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

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On January 24, 2024, at about 7:30pm, Hind died of her injuries while she was trapped in a car, surrounded by the bodies of her relatives, after her family was forcibly displaced hours earlier from Gaza City. They had attempted to follow orders and leave. But on their way, Israel\u2019s army fired more than 300 bullets at the black Kia driven by Hind\u2019s uncle.<\/p>\n

Hind has become a global symbol for the suffering of Palestinian children, more than 20,000 of whom have been killed in Israel\u2019s genocidal war.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Oscars are important because it\u2019s one of the biggest platforms in the world for a film,\u201d one of the film\u2019s producers, Odessa Rae, told Al Jazeera by phone from Los Angeles. \u201cThe goal of this film is obviously to be seen by the widest audience possible \u2026 the Oscars allows it to accomplish more in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some Palestinians, too, are watching on with anticipation.<\/p>\n

In Gaza, filmmaker Mohammed al-Sawwaf told Al Jazeera, \u201cThe arrival of Hind Rajab\u2019s voice to these platforms, and its ability to break through the indifference that exists there, is in itself something extremely valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cA story of a human being from Gaza has been presented as the story of a person with a life and meaning, rather than the image of a Palestinian appearing as a number on news screens or as evidence of an event within the framework of war.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sawafa\"
Gaza-based filmmakers Mohammed al-Sawwaf, left, and Ibrahim al-Otla hope The Voice of Hind Rajab wins an Oscar as it humanises the reality of Palestinian suffering [Courtesy: Mohammed al-Sawwaf]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Devastating message will reach further\u2019<\/h2>\n

The film uses Hind\u2019s real voice, recorded on emergency calls with the Red Crescent, in the moments before she was killed by Israeli forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope fervently that this remarkable film will win in its Oscar category, so that its devastating message will reach further, and have greater impact on those in government in a position to bring this bloodshed to an end,\u201d Juliet Stevenson, a British actor and one of the UK\u2019s most prominent pro-Palestine voices, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

The 89-minute feature tells Hind\u2019s story from the perspective of the Palestinian Red Crescent workers who attempted to save her, but were blocked from reaching her by Israeli forces.<\/p>\n

Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, a Tunisian who cast an ensemble of Palestinian actors, the film has captivated critics, won awards and, in September, received a 23-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, US lawmakers introduced the \u201cJustice for Hind Rajab Act\u201d, legislation aimed at accountability \u2013 a \u201cstep towards justice in Hind\u2019s story\u201d, said Rae.<\/p>\n

Wissam Hamada, Hind\u2019s mother, was separated from her daughter, having left by foot on the fateful day. Though she is unable to watch the film, as hearing Hind\u2019s voice is still too much to bear, she has travelled with the filmmakers to several cities to speak about the unimaginable impact of Israel\u2019s war on children.<\/p>\n

An Oscar \u201cwould need to do more than recognise cinematic excellence \u2013 it must recognise that the story of a child and the suffering of an entire people cannot be erased or ignored\u201d, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO of the Doha Film Institute, told Al Jazeera. \u201cAwards alone do not change the reality on the ground. If the most visible platform in cinema recognises this film, it must also come with a commitment from the global community to protect and amplify the truth of the brutality we continue to witness every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

At first, Israel denied that its soldiers were even in the area where Hind was killed. After journalistic investigations, including by Al Jazeera, the army said it had raided \u201cterror targets\u201d in Gaza City that day. In January, Israeli officials told the BBC that they were reviewing the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hope is that such recognition is more than applause, but that it helps transform awareness into accountability and ensure that the humanity at the heart of Gaza\u2019s suffering is neither denied nor forgotten,\u201d Alremaihi said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t leave me alone\u2019: Hind\u2019s last words<\/h2>\n

Before her life was cruelly cut short, Hind had witnessed some of the worst of Israel\u2019s atrocities.<\/p>\n

In her last moments of life, she had begged her mother on the phone, \u201cDon\u2019t leave me alone, Mama. I am tired. I am thirsty. And I am wounded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA story like Hind Rajab\u2019s represents a symbol of thousands of other stories,\u201d said al-Sawwaf, the filmmaker in Gaza. \u201cThere are thousands of women and men who had full lives, details, and dreams that are no less human than hers \u2026 People in Gaza do not look at the Oscars or the arrival of these films as something capable of stopping the war, ending injustice, or changing reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

The real impact, he believes, lies in changing how the world perceives what is happening in Palestine, and adds that \u201cit may not change reality in a revolutionary way, but it changes how people view what is happening here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two years after Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza began, a \u201cceasefire\u201d was reached in October, 2025. But since then, hundreds of people have been killed in Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite mountains of news footage, and a large number of searing films and documentaries chronicling the catastrophe, the world is largely choosing to turn its back on the destruction of the Palestinian homeland, the pounding of their entire infrastructure, the murder of their people, the violation of their rights and freedoms. Future generations will be bewildered and horrified,\u201d Stevenson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this film \u2013 The Voice of Hind Rajab \u2013 has managed to penetrate through to the mainstream cultural forums. In being nominated for an Oscar, it brings these acts of barbarism and cruelty to those in a position to act, and make change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gaza filmmaker Ibrahim al-Otla, who works alongside al-Sawwaf, said the film \u201cconveys the truth about deliberate killings, field executions, and the erasure of entire families from the civil registry\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps deliver the real picture and expose the crimes committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza, [but] what is happening in Gaza is far more difficult than what the world sees in these films.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
A child walks near the car where Hind was found along with the bodies of her family members. Two ambulance workers who had gone to save her were also killed in Gaza City, February 10, 2024 [Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n


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The Voice of Hind Rajab is a call to action, its makers and supporters have told Al Jazeera, and hopes are high for the Oscar-nominated film in the run-up to Sunday\u2019s Academy Awards ceremony. The Gaza-set docudrama, which is up for Best International Feature, reconstructs Israel\u2019s killing of the five-year-old. Recommended Stories list of 4 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}