#TIFF25: “THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB” REVIEW

By David Baldwin

Hind Rajab is a six-year-old Palestinian girl on the phone with Red Crescent volunteers. She is trapped in a car in Gaza and begging for help – her family in the car with her have been killed and the vehicle is under Israeli military fire. With no real options available, the volunteer team stays on the phone with the young girl as they try to organize her rescue.

Even if you already know the tragic outcome of this true story, THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB is still an emotionally gutting experience that is not easy to watch or describe. Writer/Director Kaouther Ben Hania employs a docu-fiction avant-garde style that mixes scripted re-enactments of the events in the call centre with the very real phone call audio from that fateful day. It is powerful to watch play out, and Ben Hania and her cast do an admirable and respectful job in their depictions. She often just lets the audio speak for itself, allowing the waves from the raw audio to take up the entire screen and having her actors stay silent or be dubbed over by the real volunteers. This may sound awkward on paper but it is fairly seamless in action.

While there are some odd moments of levity sprinkled throughout the film and a few awkward transitions (including one scene with actual cell phone video filmed in the foreground with the actors out of focus in the background), THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB still manages to be a riveting experience that you will not forget anytime soon. It is easily one of the must-see films at this year’s festival.

THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB screens at TIFF ‘25:

Sun. Sept 7 at 9:30 PM at TIFF Lightbox

Mon. Sept 8 at 4:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sat. Sept 13 at 9:30 PM at TIFF Lightbox