Hollywood praises this Oscar contender, but the chilling truth it exposes is one the world would rather ignore
The voice of the children of Palestine.
Hollywood is buzzing with anticipation as The Voice of Hind Rajab heads to the Academy Awards as a nominee for Best International Feature. According to Al Jazeera, the critically acclaimed docudrama that reconstructs the killing of five-year-old Hind in Gaza, Palestine, has generated significant hope among its makers and supporters in the lead-up to Sunday’s ceremony.
Hind died from her injuries on January 24, 2024, at about 7:30 PM. She was trapped in a car, surrounded by the bodies of her relatives, after her family tried to follow displacement orders and leave Gaza hours earlier. Israel fired over 300 bullets at the black Kia Hind’s uncle was driving. Hind has since become a global symbol for the immense suffering of Palestinian children, with more than 20,000 having been killed in Israel’s genocidal war.
One of the film’s producers, Odessa Rae, shared her perspective from Los Angeles. Rae told Al Jazeera, “The goal of this film is obviously to be seen by the widest audience possible…the Oscars allows it to accomplish more in the world.”
Palestinians in Gaza are watching with keen anticipation
Filmmaker Mohammed al-Sawwaf said the film’s presence on these platforms, and its ability to “break through the indifference that exists there, is in itself something extremely valuable.” He believes it presents a human story, showing a person with a life and meaning, rather than just a number on a news screen. Ibrahim al-Otla, another Gaza filmmaker, said the film “conveys the truth about deliberate killings, field executions, and the erasure of entire families from the civil registry.”
The film uses Hind’s actual voice, recorded during her desperate emergency calls with the Red Crescent moments before she was murdered. The 89-minute feature tells her story from the perspective of the Palestinian Red Crescent workers who tried to save her but were blocked by Israeli forces. Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, who cast an ensemble of Palestinian actors, has created a work that truly captivates. It received a 23-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival in September and has garnered numerous awards and critical praise.
Hind’s mother, Wissam Hamada, was separated from her daughter on that fateful day, having left by foot. While she finds hearing Hind’s voice too painful to watch the film, she has traveled with the filmmakers to various cities to speak about the unimaginable impact of Israel’s war on children. In a small step toward accountability, US lawmakers introduced the “Justice for Hind Rajab Act” on Thursday, which Rae considers a “step towards justice in Hind’s story.”
Initially, Israel denied its soldiers were even in the area where Hind was killed. However, after journalistic investigations, the army later stated it had raided “terror targets” in Gaza that day. In January, Israeli officials reported they were reviewing the case.
Awards have the potential to effect change
Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, CEO, Doha Film Institute, emphasized that an Oscar “would need to do more than recognise cinematic excellence – it must recognise that the story of a child and the suffering of an entire people cannot be erased or ignored.” She said if the most visible platform in cinema recognizes this film, it must come with a commitment from the global community to protect and amplify the truth of the brutality we continue to witness every day.
Before her life was cruelly cut short, Hind had witnessed some of the worst atrocities. In her final moments, she begged her mother on the phone, “Don’t leave me alone, Mama. I am tired. I am thirsty. And I am wounded.”
Al-Sawwaf noted that Hind’s story represents thousands of others with full lives, details, and dreams. He clarified that people in Gaza don’t expect the Oscars to stop the war or end injustice, but rather to change how the world perceives what is happening in Palestine. “It may not change reality in a revolutionary way, but it changes how people view what is happening here,” he said.
Two years after Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began, a “ceasefire” was reached in October 2025. Yet, hundreds of people have been killed in Israeli attacks since then.
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