The Voice of Hind Rajab wins Silver Lion at Venice Film Festival
Venice: The Voice of Hind Rajab, a powerful docudrama chronicling the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza, has won the Silver Lion (Second Prize) at the prestigious Venice Film Festival.
Directed by acclaimed French-Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, the film tells the harrowing true story of Hind Rajab, who was killed alongside members of her family while attempting to flee Gaza City during Israel’s ongoing military campaign. The film came second to Father Mother Sister Brother by American indie director Jim Jarmusch.
“Cinema cannot bring Hind back, nor can it erase the atrocity committed against her. Nothing can ever restore what was taken, but cinema can preserve her voice, make it resonate across borders,” said Ben Hania during her award acceptance. “Her voice will continue to echo until accountability is real, until justice is served.”
The film incorporates real audio from Hind’s hours-long phone call with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), during which she pleaded for help while trapped inside a bullet-riddled car. Her aunt, uncle, and three cousins had already been killed by Israeli gunfire. Hind was ultimately killed before help could reach her. Two PRCS ambulance workers dispatched to rescue her were also reportedly killed.
Ben Hania described Hind's story as emblematic of “an entire people enduring genocide.”
The Voice of Hind Rajab premiered at the Venice Film Festival three days ago to a record-breaking 23-minute standing ovation. The emotional screening saw audience members break into tears, chants of “Free Palestine,” and waves of Palestinian flags inside the theater.
Speaking to AFP from Gaza City, Wissam Hamada, Hind Rajab’s mother, said she hopes the film raises global awareness: “The whole world has left us to die, to go hungry, to live in fear and to be forcibly displaced without doing anything.”
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Pak, Afghan forces trade fire along Chaman border: Report
Islamabad (PTI): A heavy exchange of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces was reported from the key Chaman border, according to a media report on Saturday.
Injuries were reported from the district hospital, but no fatalities occurred, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Officials from both sides accused each other of instigating the flare-up late on Friday night across the border in the Balochistan province.
While Pakistani officials said that Afghan forces had fired mortar shells on the Badani area, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed it was Pakistan that launched an attack on Spin Boldak, alleging that their forces were responding.
Pakistan's official sources told Dawn that Pakistani forces retaliated against the Afghan aggression and returned fire.
There were also reports of fighting on the Chaman-Kandahar highway, but these could not be immediately verified.
A senior official in Quetta confirmed on condition of anonymity that the exchange of fire started around 10 pm and continued until late at night.
The medical superintendent of Chaman district hospital said that three injured, including a woman, were brought to the medical facility.
There was neither any official word from the Inter-Services Public Relations -- Pakistan Army's media wing -- nor from the Foreign Office.
The Chaman border crossing, also known as Friendship Gate, connects Balochistan province to Afghanistan’s Kandahar.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated amidst regular allegations by Pakistan regarding the failure of the Afghan regime to deny safe havens to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists.
The two countries had agreed on a ceasefire following tensions last month, but the Foreign Office said last month that technically there was no truce as it was contingent on the Afghan Taliban stopping terrorist attacks in Pakistan, which they had failed to do.
