The Voice of Hind Rajab Sets U.S. Release After Landmark Festival Run

Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, already one of the most fiercely discussed, important films of the year, has set its U.S. theatrical rollout after finally finding a distributor. The film will open December 17 at New York’s Film Forum and Los Angeles’ Laemmle Theatres, with a nationwide expansion to follow. Distribution will be handled by WILLA, the company that also served as a producing partner on the project.

The film arrives in the U.S. on a wave of extraordinary festival momentum. Debuting in competition at Venice, The Voice of Hind Rajab earned the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize and what insiders have described as the longest standing ovation in the festival’s history, at just over 23 minutes. It continued on to win the Audience Award at San Sebastián, alongside major recognitions at Middleburg and Chicago, with additional screenings at Toronto, BFI London, and AFI Fest.

The narrative is drawn directly from real events, following Palestinian Red Crescent responders attempting to reach a 6-year-old girl who remains alive and on the phone as shelling continues in Gaza. Saja Kilani leads the cast, joined by Motaz Malhees, Amer Hlehel, and Clara Khoury. The film anchors itself to the actual recorded calls made during the incident, allowing what happened to speak for itself. The effect is raw, closer to real-time document than dramatization.

Tunisia has selected the film as its official submission for the 98th Academy Awards. It is produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha, Odessa Rae, and James Wilson, with an executive-producing team that includes Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Alfonso Cuarón, and Jonathan Glazer. WILLA, founded and led by Elizabeth Woodward, has increasingly positioned itself as a home for films working at the intersection of political reality and personal narrative. Recent releases include Andrew Durham’s Fairyland and You Resemble Me.

The release also arrives at a time when stories from Gaza are circulating globally in real time, but often at a scale that can feel abstract. By focusing on one child and the responders who tried to reach her, the film narrows the frame, bringing attention back to individual human stakes rather than anonymous statistics or geopolitical distance. It is a difficult narrative, but its emotional clarity is part of why it has resonated so strongly at festivals and in early international screenings.

Beyond its theatrical run, the film will be accompanied by a substantial impact initiative that situates the work within civic, educational, and communal spaces. Special screenings are planned at the United Nations, the U.K. Parliament, the European Parliament, universities, and community organizations across the U.S. in collaboration with advocacy partners. The release strategy treats the film as an act of remembering and witnessing in public.

The Voice of Hind Rajab opens Dec. 17 in New York and Los Angeles, followed by a national expansion.

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