Copyright Deadline
Kaouther Ben Hania’s fiction feature The Voice of Hind Rajab has been set as the opening film of the inaugural Gaza International Festival for Women’s Cinema. The festival will run from October 26 to 31 in Deir el-Balah, a Palestinian city in the heart of the Gaza Strip. The area has been the site of huge amounts of violence during Israel’s offensive. On Monday, The Guardian reported that Israeli artillery targeted Deir al-Balah, and at least two Palestinians were shot to death in Gaza City, in a violation of the agreed ceasefire. Plans for the Gaza International Festival for Women’s Cinema were first announced during this year’s Venice Film Festival, where The Voice of Hind Rajab debuted to high praise from critics. The film tells the story of a young Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year, along with six of her family members. Rajab and her family had been fleeing Gaza City when their vehicle was shelled, killing her uncle, aunt, and three cousins. Rajab and another cousin initially survived and contacted the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) by phone from the car seeking aid. The car was later found with Rajab and the paramedics who had come to help all dead. The incident sparked global protests, including at Columbia University, where students renamed Hamilton Hall as Hind’s Hall. The film, which includes the real audio of Hind Rajab before her death, has attracted several high-profile supporters, including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuaron, and Jonathan Glazer. Out of Venice, Deadline’s Damon Wise described the pic as a “vital” film: “Kaouther Ben Hania’s powerful hybrid doc The Voice of Hind Rajab could be the lightning rod that supporters of the Gazan cause are waiting for, an urgent procedural that uses cinematic means — close, hand-held takes and a camera that paces around like an expectant father — to make its point.” Dr. Azaddin Shalah is the founder and head of the Gaza International Women’s Cinema Festival. The event has been organized in partnership with the Palestinian Ministry of Culture. Festival organizers have said the first edition will feature 79 films from 28 Arab and international countries that “present women’s issues from different human angles.” French filmmaker Céline Sciamma will chair the festival’s fiction jury. She will be joined by Moroccan filmmaker Mohamed El Younsi, Italian actress Jasmine Trinca, Palestinian writer-director Fajr Yacoub, and Algerian actress Mouni Bouallam.
