Key Points
- Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania discusses her new film, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which depicts the tragic true story of a 6-year-old girl killed in Gaza.
- The film utilizes a “hybrid” style, combining professional actors with the actual emergency call recordings to immerse the audience in the “present moment” of the event.
- Hind’s mother, Wissam Hamada, collaborated with the director to ensure her daughter’s story serves as a witness to war crimes and supports a new charity for children in Gaza.
- Ben Hania highlights the role of cinema in fostering global empathy, noting that international audiences have compared the film’s emotional weight to the Japanese classic “Grave of the Fireflies.”
- Following the film’s release and international pressure, the Israeli military recently announced the opening of a criminal investigation into the incident.
Full Transcript (English)
Host: Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Fuki Kamai.
Kaouther Ben Hania: Nice to meet you.
Narrator: Tunisian film director Kaouther Ben Hania. Her film, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” is set to be released in September. On January 29, 2024, in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, a 6-year-old girl named Hind Rajab was trapped in a car under fire by the Israeli military. From inside the vehicle, she made an emergency call to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, waiting hours for a rescue that ended in tragedy. The film depicts the struggle of the dispatchers and staff who tried desperately to save her, based on the actual voice recordings left behind.
Host: This film made me realize again how terrifying it is that such a brutal reality is still part of everyday life in Palestine. What did you feel when you first heard Hind’s own voice, and what made you decide to make this film?
Kaouther Ben Hania: I was following what was happening in Gaza. At the time, I was about to start shooting another movie that I had been writing for several years—a movie about storytelling and art. At the same time, I was thinking about what someone like me, a storyteller, can do when the unthinkable is happening. For me, it was obvious I couldn’t tell that other story right now. When I heard the voice of Hind Rajab—it was a small extract of the call—I couldn’t go on with my daily life. I couldn’t “unhear” it. It was in my head. It affected me a lot, and I felt a great sense of powerlessness. I hate being powerless. I thought I should do something with those emotions. The first question anyone asks themselves when they hear this kind of voice is: “What can I do?” I can make movies. That is how I decided to start working on “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” I put aside the other movie because it wasn’t the right timing.
Host: I was also deeply struck by the interview with Hind’s mother. What kind of conversations did you have with Hind’s family, and how did you work with them to bring the film to completion?
Kaouther Ben Hania: When I thought that I had to do a movie, I realized this is not a fictional story. Hind is a real child from Gaza. She was loved by her family and her mother. The first thing to do was to call the family to ask their permission. But I wasn’t hoping for permission only; I wanted their blessing. So I called Hind’s mother, Wissam Hamada. To be honest, I was a little bit afraid because at the time she was still in Gaza and she was mourning. Losing a child for a mother is something beyond tragic. She was in survival mode, like all people in Gaza. I was calling her to speak about a “movie,” so I was afraid. But she is an incredible woman. From the first moment we talked, I felt like I was talking to a cousin or someone I had known for a long time. She has a great sense of humor. For me, she is the personification of resilience. She told me, “I was wondering, if I die by a bombing, who will tell the story of Hind? Since you called me, if I die, it’s okay, because there is somebody outside who will tell the story.” I was really touched. She became an advocate for the movie. We were lucky enough to evacuate her from Gaza because her life was in danger. Then we met physically and have traveled to many places together with the film. She is now starting a charity for the children in Gaza.
Host: How does Hind’s mother feel about the film expanding so much across the world?
Kaouther Ben Hania: There are two things. First, Hind’s mother, until now, cannot watch the movie. I told her when I finished editing, “I want you to be the first person to watch it,” and she said, “I can’t.” she can’t even hear the recording of Hind’s voice, even though it is all over the internet. She told me to show it to her brother, whom she trusts deeply. He watched it and told her it was a great movie. When we do a screening at a festival, she arrives at the end when the credits roll to meet the people who watched it. For her, this gives her so much courage. She didn’t have a proper funeral for her daughter, so seeing all these people feeling for her daughter gives her the courage to continue and work for her charity.
Host: You have developed a unique style that blends documentary and fiction. You previously said that asking Palestinians to explain their reality again and again is cruel, and that their stories need to be retold through fiction. Could you tell me more about why you chose to retell this story through fiction?
Kaouther Ben Hania: The movie is not a fictional movie; it’s a hybrid form. The story is a true story; I didn’t invent things. My job as a filmmaker was to question the form. What is the perfect form and angle to tell this story? Those creative decisions were used to tell a real story that already exists with a real recording. Those are documents. The fact that there are actors doesn’t mean it is fictional. The actors’ main mission was to make us go back and live the present moment when saving Hind Rajab was still possible. In the language of film, we call this “reenactment,” though I feel that word is sometimes inappropriate because it reminds people of crime shows. We used the tools of reenactment to go back to the moment, which is impossible with a normal documentary because documentaries are usually about something in the past. To experience the event as the “present moment,” you need actors being there. I wanted to share with the audience what I felt when I first heard her voice, because when you hear her voice, you are in the present moment when she was still alive.
Host: A ceasefire agreement was reached last year, but civilians continue to lose their lives. International law does not seem to be functioning as it should. How do you view what is happening now?
Kaouther Ben Hania: We live in a world that is governed by force. It’s the law of the jungle. We used to have international law written after World War II because what happened then was so horrible. Humanity needed to be governed by international law. But now we see all this falling apart. If you have power—military power—you can do whatever you want. We are in a world of gangsters. The biggest gangster does whatever he wants. It’s very sad. I don’t think this is sustainable for our children or the next generation.
Host: Your home country, Tunisia, was once seen as a symbol of hope for democracy after the Arab Spring, but concerns about a return to authoritarianism have grown. How do you see this shift, and how do you want to respond to it?
Kaouther Ben Hania: It’s a very sad shift; a regression. After the Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia, we had a wonderful experience. I made all my movies during this period, tackling very difficult taboo questions because of that “wind of freedom.” But recently, we have had this regression to a dictatorship. The president took all the powers, and all the opposition is in jail. It is a very depressing situation. But when I see the history of revolutions, you often have periods of going back to dictatorship. Take the French Revolution; it took them 200 years to have a proper democracy. You have to see the macro image. But in the micro reality, Tunisia was a hope for the region, and now it is a dictatorship.
Host: Divisions are growing deeper around the world. What do you think is most important if we want to keep talking with people whose values are very different from our own?
Kaouther Ben Hania: This is a very important question because we live in a polarized world, and social media is not helping; it’s dividing us. The algorithms send you people you agree with, so you think everybody has the same ideas as you. When you meet someone different, you want to “kill” them because they seem impossible to exist. Cinema has this ability to make you understand “otherness.” You put yourself in the shoes of another person. When I watch a Japanese movie, I am not Japanese, but I put myself in the shoes of the character and for a moment, I am Japanese. This is the power of cinema. It is a healthy exercise in empathy, and we need a lot of empathy right now.
Host: For you, is this film a record to keep the world from forgetting, or is it an act of resistance? What did you most want to convey?
Kaouther Ben Hania: This story happened very recently. The genocide is still ongoing. We are not yet in the stage of “memory” or remembering together what happened. We are still in the act of resisting the official narrative and asking for justice. Hind’s killers are still free. There is no justice. So we are still in this moment of wanting justice. If we want peace, we need justice too.
Host: What does it mean to you that the film will be released in Japan, and what do you hope audiences here will take away from it?
Kaouther Ben Hania: I’m beyond happy that the movie is released in Japan; it’s my first movie released there. A lot of people around the world, after watching the movie, tell me that the first time they had this kind of emotion was when they watched the Japanese movie “Grave of the Fireflies.” People in America and Europe compare “The Voice of Hind Rajab” to that film. This is something Japanese people know. When there is an open wound in humanity, like the genocide in Gaza or Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it touches something beyond culture or geography. It touches humanity itself. I want to invite Japanese people to watch, to listen, and to bear witness. It is easy to look away, but it is more important to watch, to listen, and to do something about it.
Host: Thank you very much.
Kaouther Ben Hania: Thank you.
Narrator: On August 19, 2024, the Israeli military admitted for the first time to firing on the car Hind and her family were in and announced it would open a criminal investigation. Hind’s mother responded on Instagram, stating: “I do not want a closed military investigation. I want an independent, transparent investigation and genuine accountability for everyone responsible. Justice has not yet begun.” In Gaza, even after the ceasefire last October, approximately 1,200 people have been killed, and more than 73,000 lives have been taken to date.
