Receiving the award, the film’s director, Kaouther Ben Hania, dedicated the prize to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society [GETTY]
‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’, a heartbreaking docudrama about Israel’s killing of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab Hamada in Gaza, won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.
The award is the festival’s second-highest honour after the Gold Lion prize.
Receiving the award, director Kaouther Ben Hania dedicated the prize to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, whose paramedics were also killed by Israeli forces while they attempted to rescue Hind.
“The voice of Hind is the voice of Gaza itself. A cry for rescue the entire world could hear, yet no one answered. Her voice will continue to echo until accountability is real and justice is served,” Hania said in her speech.
“We all believe in the force of cinema. It is what gathers us here tonight, and what gives us the courage to tell stories that might otherwise be buried.”
While the film was a strong contender for the festival’s Gold Lion award, Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ won the prize.
The docudrama received a 23-minute standing ovation from the crowd at the film’s premiere at the festival on Wednesday, which is thought to be the longest in film festival history.
The film also received a star-studded backing with the likes of Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix joining the movie as executive producers.
‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ follows the real-life events surrounding and leading up to the Hind’s killing on 29 January. It includes the the real audio of a phone call made by the six-year-old to the PRCS after being the only survivor of an Israeli attack on her family’s car as they attempted to flee Gaza City.
Hind could be heard pleading to be rescued and remaining on the call for three hours before losing contact. The ambulance crew were unable to get to her due to intense Israeli gunfire and their vehicle being targeted by Israeli forces.
Rajab and two paramedics who tried to rescue her were killed before the volunteers could arrive, with the car being found riddled with bullet holes. The child’s body was found on 12 February.
Her death and the recordings of her call sparked worldwide outrage and condemnation, demanding accountability and justice for her and her family.
Pro-Palestine protesters in the US renamed Hamilton Hall at Columbia University to “Hind’s Hall” in solidarity with the six-year-old. US rapper Macklemore also released a protest song with the same name in support of the protests and to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The legal arm of the March 30 Movement, the Hind Rajab Foundation, focuses on legal action against the perpetrators and accomplices in Israel’s genocide.