The House Article | “Deeply affecting”: Sarah Champion reviews ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’

The Voice of Hind Rajab starring Saja Kilani as Rana Hassan Faqih, Motaz Malhees as Omar A. Alqam and Clara Khoury as Nisreen Jeries Qawas | Image by: BFA / Alamy

4 min read29 January

I felt anxious as I walked into the cinema to watch The Voice of Hind Rajab – a sickening anxiety of knowing what I was likely to be watching but not knowing how I would react.

This new release tells the desperate and real-life tragic struggle to rescue a six-year-old girl, Hind Rajab, who was caught up in the Israeli military operation into Gaza in January 2024. 

Using a mix of dramatisation by an impressive cast, as well as the actual recordings of phone calls between the Red Crescent emergency call centre and Hind – and including real footage of the staff talking during the incident – the film shows the human tragedy not just of the war of Gaza but of every war where innocents are involved.

During the telephone conversations, you can hear the terrifying sound of shooting and explosions in the background. Hearing a little girl pleading for help from the emergency call centre staff is heartbreaking. The emotions and frustration shown by the actors bring to life the deep effect this incident had upon those close to this tragedy.

The film runs for 89 minutes and is tightly focused on the desperate efforts of those talking to Hind – who is surrounded by the dead bodies of her family in a car riddled by 355 bullets – as well as trying to co-ordinate a rescue via third parties with the Israeli Defense Forces. An effort that could have succeeded if the ambulance attending was not destroyed by an Israeli tank, with the loss of two Red Crescent rescue workers.

The film never seeks to lays blame or make moral judgements; it just presents the truth in the literal words of those involved

Advertisement

As many filmgoers will know the fate of Hind before watching, I’d recommend this film for its authentic and sympathetic view of this terrible incident in the early stages of what would become an issue that gained international notoriety and later investigated as a war crime.

As chair of the International Development Select Committee, I have been closely involved with many of the organisations and individuals on the ground trying to protect and support the Palestinian civilians caught up in this horrific conflict.

The film shows how complex and brutal the reality is, and how that impacts on the people involved. It never seeks to lay blame or make moral judgements; it just presents the truth in the literal words of those involved. As a committee, we had visited the Red Crescent Centre later that same year.

The film portrays the volunteers and staff very accurately; they are remarkable people tasked with a near-impossible role. The only thing I noted had changed from the film was the number of photos of civilians, and Red Crescent staff, on the memorial wall.

So, was my anxiety misplaced? It really is a good film, and I do recommend it. Honest, powerful and gripping – you live every moment. Making a film about the real life story of one little girl is, in many ways, more powerful than the incomprehensible statistics around the deaths in Gaza we have seemingly become immune to. The filmmakers deserve huge credit. My partner Richard Butterworth co-wrote this review with me. It gave us both nightmares – but maybe that is the point.

Sarah Champion is Labour MP for Rotherham and chair of the International Development Select Committee

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Written & directed by: Kaouther Ben Hania

Venue: General cinema release