'The Voice of Hind Rajab' is releasing in India finally! Bookings open
This critically acclaimed docudrama, which has garnered Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, faced a significant censorship hurdle before its Indian distribution
Palestinian film "The Voice of Hind Rajab", directed by Franco-Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, is finally seeing the light of day in India. Bookings for the critically acclaimed, Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated film are open for its release on June 19, 2026. The film had to overcome a
Palestinian film "The Voice of Hind Rajab", directed by Franco-Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, is finally seeing the light of day in India. Bookings for the critically acclaimed, Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated film are open for its release on June 19, 2026. The film had to overcome a
Palestinian film "The Voice of Hind Rajab", directed by Franco-Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, is finally seeing the light of day in India. Bookings for the critically acclaimed, Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated film are open for its release on June 19, 2026. The film had to overcome a
Palestinian film "The Voice of Hind Rajab", directed by Franco-Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, is finally seeing the light of day in India. Bookings for the critically acclaimed, Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated film are open for its release on June 19, 2026.
The film had to overcome a high-profile censorship hurdle to secure the release. India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) initially blocked the release, out of concern that it could negatively affect diplomatic ties with Israel. However, the board eventually reversed its decision and granted an Adults Only (A) certificate. It is now set to release in more than 100 Indian cinemas on Friday, June 19, 2026. Its runtime spans exactly 1 hour and 35 minutes.
The docudrama feature is a reconstruction of the tragic true story of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Real-life emergency audio recordings of Hind's final hours, weaving her actual voice into a scripted re-enactment of the desperate, failed mission to rescue her, are incorporated in the film.
On January 29, 2024, Palestinian Red Crescent Society volunteers from a Ramallah call centre respond to a frantic emergency call. Trapped inside a car surrounded by Israeli military fire and the corpses of her relatives, Hind Rajab had spent hours pleading for an ambulance as operators raced against time to coordinate a corridor of safety.
The makers behind "The Voice of Hind Rajab" utilised a single-location layout focused on the call centre workers. To do justice to her memory, Ben Hania opted to display the digital audio waveform of Hind's real voice on-screen while deliberately keeping the physical battlefield violence off-screen.
Principal cast members include Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Amer Hlehel, and Clara Khoury, who play the Red Crescent dispatchers and managers. A bunch of Hollywood A-listers, such as Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, and Rooney Mara, backed the film as executive producers.
"The Voice of Hind Raja" has cinematography by Juan Sarmiento G, with the editing team comprising Qutaiba Barhamji, Maxime Mathis, and Ben Hania.
The film premiered globally at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2025, where it received a big standing ovation and was awarded the Grand Jury Prize (Silver Lion). Furthermore, it was Tunisia's official entry in the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards. It also fetched a Golden Globe nomination for Best Non-English Language Film.