TIFF Review: The Voice of Hind Rajab Offers Controversial Taste Regarding the Genocide in Gaza

      In January 2024, the Palestine Red Crescent Society received an emergency call from Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl who was in a car with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Gaza City. The Israeli army opened fire on their vehicle, killing everyone except Rajab, who managed to call for help while trapped among the bodies of her relatives. After hours on the phone, the Red Crescent was able to coordinate an ambulance to rescue her, which was subsequently destroyed upon arrival. Rajab and the two ambulance workers sent to her aid were found dead 12 days later after Israeli forces left the area.

      This incident is one of numerous atrocities committed by Israel in its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, which, according to estimates from the Gaza Health Ministry, has claimed over 60,000 Palestinian lives since October 2023, the time of this writing. Upon hearing the audio of the calls between Rajab and the Red Crescent volunteers, Kaouther Ben Hania paused her work on her next feature to quickly create The Voice of Hind Rajab. Drawing from the testimonies of the Red Crescent workers who interacted with Rajab over the phone, she crafted a narrative from their perspective. Similar to her previous film, Four Daughters, she incorporates non-fiction elements, such as Rajab's actual voice from the calls, which is heard throughout the film. The outcome is a film with noble intentions but marred by questionable execution choices, and Ben Hania's direction does not sufficiently address concerns related to this portrayal.

      The film is entirely set in the Red Crescent offices and begins with Omar (Mataz Malhees) speaking to Rajab before his colleague Rana (Saja Kilani) steps in to help as they await their supervisor Mahdi (Amer Hlehel) to authorize an ambulance (located several miles away) to enter the area to rescue Rajab. As time passes, tensions in the office escalate: Omar and Rana break down over their inability to assist, while Mahdi must navigate the challenges of coordinating between Gazan and Israeli officials to secure safe passage for the humanitarian workers.

      Perhaps the most pressing question revolves around Ben Hania's choice to frame this story as a last-minute thriller. Using handheld cameras, she structures the film around plot twists meant to elevate the stakes, such as the moment they believe they’ve lost Rajab only to learn she is still on the phone. It resembles a genre film, but the audience is aware of the outcome, even if the characters are not.

      One could interpret Ben Hania’s decision to approach the film this way as an effort to immerse viewers in a similarly powerless position, or to utilize the immediacy to draw audiences into the narrative—despite their knowledge of its conclusion. However, her direction feels too flat and dependent on genre conventions, resulting in an unsettling experience. Hearing Rajab’s genuine cries and pleas confined within a narrative and visual language typically associated with thrilling entertainment implies that Ben Hania aims to make the subject's tragic story more digestible for broader audiences.

      The attempt to make the horrific murder of a child, her family, and her rescuers more accessible is a troubling notion, raising the question of why Ben Hania chose to create The Voice of Hind Rajab in this manner. The involvement of prominent Hollywood figures like Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Alfonso Cuarón as executive producers is unsurprising in light of Ben Hania's approach, which aligns with a style familiar to that sector of the film industry. Nevertheless, this is also an industry where, less than 24 hours after my TIFF screening of The Voice of Hind Rajab, a documentary glorifying a former general of the same army that killed her was awarded. While Hind Rajab’s story is heart-wrenching and Ben Hania’s efforts to raise awareness are commendable, it is not sufficient to overlook the discomfort of experiencing it in this way.

      One could argue that if Ben Hania’s film raises awareness about the genocide in Gaza, it could be considered successful. However, after witnessing the slaughter of innocent civilians by Israel for two years, the belief that art can bring about significant change seems overly simplistic. Such ideas reflect the misguided mindset that has led to the current situation. The Voice of Hind Rajab seems just as likely to foster the kind of self-congratulatory attitude that has become prevalent in contemporary “political” cinema, where merely watching a film like this and acknowledging one’s sympathy is mistaken for a form of direct action.

      The Voice of Hind Rajab was screened at TIFF 2025.