The Voice of Hind Rajab blends dramatized scenes with actual documented voice recordings and footage to depict the story of two emergency call workers trying to get help for a 6-year-old girl stuck in her family’s car. On January 29, 2024, Omar received a call from a family whose car was in space that was about to marched on by the Israeli military. Soon, in a car with six people, there was only one living soul: Hind Rajab. Omar and his colleague, Rana then have to negotiate with the few people who could Hind Rajab authorize their rescue. The result is a depressing and haunting look at Palestinian struggle against an enemy that does not negotiate reasonably and allows innocent lives to hang in the balance.
Hind Rajab is an urgent film that is essential not only for its disclosure of the atrocities happening in Gaza, but for its capturing of the frustrating feeling that many of us feel simply being bystanders. As we watch Omar and Hana implore everyone who has even a chance to save her, we are left with a heartbreaking story where an innocent life is on the line and all we can see is a complicated political situation. Director Kaouther Ben Hania makes it impossible for us to forget who is involved and who needs help.
Utilizing claustrophobic close-ups and strong dramatic acting for the recreation, the film is a strong piece of classical filmmaking. What makes it stand out is the smart blending of fiction-filmmaking, documentary voice recordings and footage. Hind Rajab is one of those films that just makes you feel empty inside. The urgent documentary pieces shown at the end of the film become just as urgent as live footage of someone under threat as we feel the weight of what the Palestinian people face every day.
The Voice of Hind Rajab is playing at TIFF ’25. For more information, click here.
