Oscar-nominated The Voice of Hind Rajab comes to SA cinemas
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The voice of a five-year-old Palestinian girl trapped in a car under Israeli fire became one of the defining sounds of the genocide in Gaza. More than a year later, that voice is arriving on South African cinema screens through one of the most internationally recognised films of the past awards season. The Voice of Hind Rajab, the Oscar-nominated film reconstructing the final hours of five-year-old Hind Rajab, will screen in South Africa from this weekend following a global festival run that transformed the production into one of the most politically resonant films of the year. Directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, the film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September last year, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and reportedly received a 23-minute standing ovation. From Venice, the film moved rapidly through the international awards circuit, earning nominations at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and BAFTAs. Its arrival in South Africa marks the latest stage in what has become an unusually politicised global journey for a documentary-drama built around one child’s final calls for help. The production reconstructs the emergency calls made on 29 January 2024 after Hind became trapped inside a vehicle surrounded by the bodies of her relatives while Israeli forces advanced in Gaza City. The recordings, captured by the Palestinian Red Crescent, circulated globally during the early months of the war and became one of the conflict’s defining civilian testimonies. But the film’s international impact has reflected more than the tragedy itself. It has become part of a wider cultural and political reckoning around Gaza, emerging during a period in which artists, filmmakers and major cultural institutions have faced growing pressure over how they respond to the war and the scale of civilian devastation. Its executive producers include Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuarón and Jonathan Glazer, underscoring the extent to w