"Making our voices heard": Palestinians hail the success of "The Voice of Hind Rajab," the film about a young Gazan woman acclaimed at the Venice Film Festival

Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Henia's film tells the story of young Hind Rajab, who died after trying to flee Israeli bombings, and has sparked strong emotion.

It was a standing ovation that will go down in the annals of cinema. The film " The Voice of Hind Rajab " - inspired by a true story that took place in Gaza - was applauded for 23 minutes during its screening on Wednesday, September 3 at the Venice Film Festival. A highly acclaimed premiere, which made the film by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Henia one of the favorites in the running for the Golden Lion, awarded on the evening of Saturday, September 6.

Even before its theatrical release, the film's success has resonated as far away as Gaza. The fervor surrounding this docudrama has brought up contrasting feelings in humanitarian Eyad Amawi: " On the one hand, there is a deep sadness because Hind's story reopens wounds that are still bleeding. And at the same time, there is also a kind of relief and even joy at the idea that the voice of men always prevails over attempts to stifle it ."

This voice is that of 5-year-old Hind Rajab. Fleeing bombings in January 2024, she found herself caught in Israeli army fire. All her loved ones in the car were killed. The only survivor, she spent nearly three hours on the phone with rescuers. The little girl was found dead twelve days later, the car riddled with 335 bullet holes.

No Palestinian has forgotten this story. And certainly not Mustafa Sheta, director of the Jenin Freedom Theatre in the northern occupied West Bank . " We are proud that Motaz Malhees, one of our former students, participated in this film ," he explains. "We are really happy to use the tools of cinema, culture, and art to reach people and make our voices heard ."

" Perhaps this is a way to make them change their view of Palestine ," hopes Mustafa Sheta, faced with a film that seems to want to echo the cry of an entire people. Because, as Palestinians often repeat, " we are not numbers ."