'The Voice of Hind Rajab' Nominated for Best International Feature at the Oscars

The Voice of Hind Rajab, directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, has earned an Oscar nomination in the Best International Feature Film category, marking a milestone for Arab and global cinema.

The film tells the harrowing true story of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed in January 2024 while fleeing bombardment in Gaza. Using real audio of Hind’s desperate calls to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, the film emphasizes the human cost of conflict, focusing on memory and dignity rather than recreating violence.

Premiering at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2025, the film received a 23-minute standing ovation and won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s second-highest honor. Ben Hania dedicated the work to humanitarian workers and first responders.

“This nomination belongs first to Hind. To her voice. To what should never have happened and yet did,” Hania said, emphasizing cinema’s power to bear witness and speak uncomfortable truths.

Sources: Al Jazeera / The Arab Weekly