Hind Rajab’s Mother Opens Doha Film Festival: “Save The Children Of Gaza Before The Last Light Goes Out”

Doha Film Festival commenced with the MENA premiere of Kaouther Ben Hania’s Gaza docudrama The Voice Of Hind Rajab. It circles the killing of 6-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza on January 29, 2024, when the car she was travelling in with her uncle, aunt and three cousins was shot at by Israeli military as they attempted to flee to the south of the Palestinian territory.

The film is Tunisia’s official Oscar submission. Ben Hania has had two prior Oscar nominations for The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020) and Four Daughters (2023). The Voice of Hind Rajab is featured in the competition section of the Doha film festival. Two months ago, the film won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

“Hind is gone, but her voice still wakes me up every dawn. The voice of my daughter is the voice of children of Gaza. Save the children of Gaza before its last light goes out”, Hind’s mother, Wissam Hamada, addressed the Doha audience ahead of the screening. She wouldn’t watch the film since it was too overwhelming for her to bear. “I wish the children live instead of becoming martyrs,” Hamada added.

“My message is not just words; it’s the pain of a mother who lost her daughter, and then found in her universal love a message from God, and understood that my role is to carry the voice of the children of Gaza to the world, the children who live in the heart of war, in darkness, deprived of their most basic rights, of their dreams that are snatched away before they grow up.”

Hamada, who was evacuated from Gaza in September after protracted negotiations with Israel, appeared on-stage alongside director Ben Hania and cast members Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Clara Khoury and Amer Hlehel. Representatives of the Red Crescent Society and the real-life staff members whose struggle to save Rajab is retold in the film were also in the audience.

The Doha Film Festival runs till November 28.