Podcast Summary: All Of It – Oscar Film: The Voice of Hind Rajab

Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Kauther Ben Hania (Director, "The Voice of Hind Rajab")
Air Date: March 13, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of "All Of It" features a powerful and intimate conversation with director Kauther Ben Hania about her Oscar-nominated film "The Voice of Hind Rajab." The film explores the true story of a six-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, who was trapped and alone in a car under fire in Gaza City, connected to the outside world only through a heartbreaking phone call with Red Crescent emergency workers. Incorporating actual audio from that call, Ben Hania crafts a unique blend of fact and dramatization, immersing the audience in both the tension and tragedy of real events. The discussion delves into the genesis of the film, its difficult ethical choices, the collaboration with Hind's family and the real-life Red Crescent workers, and the impact of bearing witness to such a story.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Inspiration: Hearing Hind's Voice

[01:18 – 02:50]

• Kauther Ben Hania recounts hearing Hind’s voice on social media while in Los Angeles:
  • "I was glued to the news following what was happening in Gaza… I heard the voice of Hind Rajab… It haunted me. I couldn't unhear it." [01:30]
• She felt "helpless" but compelled to act through the medium she knows—film.
  • "I couldn't do or think about any other thing than this little girl pleading for her life, surrounded by the dead body of her family and asking to be saved." [02:05]
• She put another fully funded movie on pause to focus on Hind’s story.

2. Gaining Family Consent and Building a Relationship

[02:52 – 04:51]

• Ben Hania insisted on getting Hind's mother's blessing before moving forward.
  • "I have no legitimacy if the family don't want to." [03:09]
• Hind's mother communicated both her personal pain and her wish for justice:
  • "My daughter is not the only child in Gaza... if this movie can help in a way, to bring some accountability in this horrible world, please do it." [03:35]
• Their relationship blossomed into mutual support, culminating in a deeply emotional in-person meeting after Hind's mother was safely evacuated from Gaza.

3. Blending Fact and Fiction: The Cinematic Language of Empathy

[04:51 – 08:03]

• The film is a unique hybrid: actors play the Red Crescent workers, but Hind’s real voice is used.
• The investigation had already revealed the facts (e.g., weapon identification, timelines), so Ben Hania saw the cinematic mission as building "empathy" instead of providing more exposition:
  • "What cinema can bring, you know, more than proof...cinema can bring empathy, can bring emotion." [05:35]
• The film follows the Red Crescent dispatchers facing a moral dilemma—unable to risk their own lives without Israeli military approval, while Hind pleads for help:
  • "Their job is to save lives… they are working in impossible situation, being faced with moral dilemma imposed by the Israeli army." [05:49]
• Ultimately, the rescue mission failed, a tragedy captured in real-time audio:
  • "We hear the bomb. They were bombed, killed, and then the phone was cut with Hind." [07:50]

4. The Power of the Real: Connecting Audience To Reality

[08:03 – 09:44]

• One of the film’s striking stylistic choices is the reveal of real Red Crescent workers, shifting from dramatization to documentary mode:
  • "I have to tell the audience this is real. And let's go to archival documentary mode." [08:40]
• The need to anchor the story in truth was both emotional and ethical in response to the horror of the moment.

5. Ethical Storytelling: Working From a Distance

[09:44 – 11:30]

• Most of the film is set inside the Red Crescent Center, built on a Tunisian set.
• Ben Hania refused to recreate scenes featuring Hind directly, instead keeping the focus on the dispatchers as a mark of respect:
  • "For me, it was out of question to do the mise en scene of this little child in the car… I needed to honor her voice." [10:05]
• The film is constructed at a "respectful distance," paralleling the experience of audiences helplessly watching the Gaza crisis unfold on media:
  • "Their position... resembles our position around the world… we have our hands tied." [10:40]
• The film eschews graphic imagery and relies on the emotional intensity of the actors’ reactions and Hind’s voice.

6. Connecting Real and Fictional Counterparts

[11:30 – 12:34]

• Actors met with the real Red Crescent workers to prepare:
  • "For them, it was a responsibility... They needed to talk to the real people, to ask them questions, to depict them in a very accurate way." [11:47]
• Ben Hania emphasized the actors as "vessels for the real person," reinforcing authenticity.

7. Audience Response and Impact

[12:34 – 13:59]

• Ben Hania acknowledges that some viewers are apprehensive but encourages them:
  • "You have to bear witness… If it's really too hard, do something about it, it's better than hiding." [12:56]
• She recounts how viewers often feel grateful for having witnessed something profound and life-changing:
  • "When people tell me 'this movie changed me'… this is... very, very flattering as a filmmaker." [13:43]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the lasting impact of Hind’s voice:
  "I couldn't unhear it… I was about to start another movie which was written, financed and I stopped everything." — Kauther Ben Hania [01:30]
• Hind’s mother on Gazan children:
  “My daughter is not the only child in Gaza. Every day there is Hind Rajabs... I want justice for my daughter.” — Kauther Ben Hania quoting Hind's mother [03:35]
• On the film’s mission:
  "Cinema can bring empathy, can bring emotion... let's not stop explaining and let's live the life of those, those Red Crescent employees." — Kauther Ben Hania [05:35]
• Regarding ethical filmmaking:
  “For me it was out of question to do the mise en scène of this little child in the car… I needed to honor her voice.” — Kauther Ben Hania [10:05]
• To viewers hesitant to watch:
  “You have to bear witness… it’s not your life, thanks God, you are privileged. You have to bear witness.” — Kauther Ben Hania [12:56]
• On the film’s emotional impact:
  “When people tell me this movie changed me. And this is… very, very flattering as a filmmaker.” — Kauther Ben Hania [13:43]

Important Timestamps

• 01:18: Ben Hania hears Hind's voice for the first time; the genesis of the film
• 03:09: Ben Hania receives Hind’s mother’s blessing
• 05:28: Discussion of blending fact and dramatization
• 07:50: Describes the final moments and tragic outcome of the rescue call
• 08:40: Choice to reveal real Red Crescent workers; shift to reality
• 10:05: Maintaining ethical distance in the storytelling
• 11:47: Process of actors connecting with their real-life counterparts
• 12:56: Ben Hania’s plea for audiences to bear witness
• 13:43: The film's transformative effect on viewers

Tone & Language

Kauther Ben Hania speaks with compassionate urgency and ethical clarity, expressing both the deeply personal and meaningfully political dimensions of telling Hind Rajab’s story. She moves fluidly between empathy, admiration for humanitarian workers, and a plea for audience engagement—inviting listeners into both the experience and the responsibility of bearing witness.

Summary Takeaway

This episode provides a moving exploration of how art can engage with real-life tragedy, striving for justice, empathy, and dignity. Ben Hania’s commitment to authenticity, her refusal to indulge in spectacle or exploitation, and her powerful collaboration with both real subjects and actors yield a film—and a conversation—that demands to be witnessed and reflected upon.