The Voice of Hind Rajab to open Palestine-focused Doha Film Festival

Nine-day event aims to raise 'voices of a people who refuse to be silenced', says its director

A still from The Voice of Hind Rajab, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania. Photo: Mime Films & Tanit Films

Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania's award-winning film, The Voice of Hind Rajab, will open the Doha Film Festival on November 20.

The nine-day event will amplify Palestinian voices this year, organisers said, with the screening of films such as With Hasan in Gaza by Kamal Aljafari, Once Upon a Time in Gaza by Arab and Nasser Tarzan and Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36, a drama set against the backdrop of the 1930s Palestinian revolt against British colonial rule.

The Voice of Hind Rajab dramatises the final hours of five-year-old Palestinian Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli fire in January 2024 after being stranded in a car with her dead relatives in Gaza. The film won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize earlier this month at the Venice Film Festival, where it also received a record 23-minute, 50-second standing ovation after its world premiere.

Hollywood stars Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara and Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuaron are among those credited as executive producers of the film, which is also Tunisia's official entry for the 2026 Academy Awards.

Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania with her Silver Lion award for The Voice of Hind Rajab, at the Venice Film Festival. EPA

“To open our festival with The Voice of Hind Rajab is to honour truth – fragile, heartbreaking and urgent,” said festival director Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, chief executive of the Doha Film Institute.

“Hind’s voice, trembling yet unyielding, speaks to every one of us. It is the story of all children, women, and men of Palestine whose lives have been shattered by violent aggression of the Israeli occupation and whose resilience continues to inspire global conscience.

“This powerful film demonstrates cinema's unique role in amplifying voices that matter, reflecting the pain and courage of the Palestinian people, and the extraordinary efforts of the unsung heroes who tried to save an innocent child. By honouring Hind’s memory and that of countless others, we hope to awaken empathy, inspire justice, and remind the world that no story, however painful, should be left untold.”

The Voice of Hind Rajab dramatises the final hours of five-year-old Palestinian Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli fire in January 2024. Photo: Mime Films & Tanit Films

On highlighting Palestinian films and talents, Alremaihi said the festival wanted to raise the “voices of a people who refuse to be silenced”.

“They carry with them the memories, the pain and the enduring hopes of Palestinians, refusing erasure and demanding recognition,” she said. “In supporting these films, we pay tribute to the courage of their creators and stand with Palestine, ensuring their stories are seen, heard and remembered.”

The festival will bring together filmmakers and audiences from around the world at locations including Katara Cultural Village, Msheireb Downtown Doha and the Museum of Islamic Art in the Qatari capital.