Are Brad Pitt & Joaquin Phoenix Really Backing A Gaza Film On Hind Rajab’s Killing?
Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix, two of the industry’s most recognisable names, have stepped into one of the year’s most politically charged films.
The pair, alongside Rooney Mara, Oscar-winning directors Jonathan Glazer and Alfonso Cuarón, and Pitt’s longtime producing partners Dede Garner and Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B Entertainment, are joining Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania’s latest project, The Voice of Hind Rajab, as executive producers.
The drama, which reconstructs the killing of six-year-old Palestinian child Hind Rajab in Gaza, is set to have its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival on September 3.
#TIFF50 North American Premiere:
🎥 THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB
dir. Kaouther Ben Hania pic.twitter.com/ilVpIHrY19— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) August 12, 2025
Hind Rajab was killed in January 2024 when Israeli forces opened fire on a car carrying her, her cousins, and other family members as they tried to flee Gaza City.
Forensic Architecture, a London-based research group, later documented 335 bullet holes in the vehicle, concluding that Israeli soldiers knew children were inside when they fired.
Ben Hania’s film uses real recordings of Hind’s desperate phone calls to Red Crescent medics, who tried to keep her on the line while an ambulance attempted to reach her. Hind initially survived the first assault that killed her family, but rescuers were prevented from reaching her in time.
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Speaking about the project, Ben Hania said, “I cannot accept a world where a child calls for help and no one comes. That pain, that failure, belongs to all of us.”
For Ben Hania, who was Oscar-nominated for Four Daughters and The Man Who Sold His Skin, the addition of Pitt, Phoenix, Cuarón, Glazer, and Mara significantly raises the profile of The Voice of Hind Rajab.
It also signals a rare intervention by Hollywood A-listers in a project that directly addresses Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. This subject has sharply divided the entertainment industry.
Backing has also come from major production and financing partners, including Britain’s Film4, Saudi-owned MBC Studios, RaeFilm Studios in New York, JW Films in London, and Nadim Cheikhrouha’s Mime Films and Tanit Films.
After its Venice debut, the film will head to the Toronto International Film Festival for its North American premiere. Distribution deals have already been closed across Europe, with CAA Media Finance handling North America.
The cast includes Palestinian actors Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Clara Khoury, and Amer Hlehel, who help bring to life a story blending docu-drama and fictional re-enactment.
The film arrives at a moment when the Gaza war and humanitarian crisis are dominating global headlines. As per the reports, more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s offensive began in October 2023, following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel that left 1,200 people dead and hundreds taken hostage.
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Hollywood’s reaction to the war has been mixed. While some high-profile figures such as Mark Ruffalo, Tilda Swinton, and Susan Sarandon have openly condemned Israel’s actions, many others have remained cautious, citing a climate of “cancel culture” within the industry.
Glazer himself faced backlash earlier this year after using his Academy Awards acceptance speech for The Zone of Interest to criticise Israel’s military campaign and the political use of the Holocaust to justify it.
The Venice Film Festival, which officially opened this week, has already been drawn into political controversy. Hundreds of artists, including Ken Loach, Toni Servillo, Céline Sciamma, and Audrey Diwan, signed an open letter urging the festival to condemn what they described as genocide in Gaza.
On August 30, protest marches were held on the Lido’s main Santa Maria Elisabetta avenue, calling attention to the ongoing humanitarian disaster.
