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THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, PALESTINE 36, PROMISED SKY Three MAD films to screen at AFI Fest in Los Angeles
22 October 2025
Three hard-hitting MAD films are set to screen at the American Film Institute’s Festival in Los Angeles — taking place from October 22nd to the 26th — including the award-winning docudrama THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB by the Oscar-nominated director Kaouther Ben Hania, Annemarie Jacir's Academy-Awards-submitted PALESTINE 36, and the Cannes premiering PROMISED SKY by Erige Sehiri.
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB — Tunisia’s official submission for the 98th Academy Awards — is a docudrama that tells the shocking true story of a girl from Gaza who was murdered by Israeli forces.
On January 29th, 2024, Red Crescent volunteers received an emergency call from a 6-year-old girl trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they did everything they could to dispatch an ambulance to her location. Her name was Hind Rajab. The film uses real voice recordings from the victim and Red Crescent correspondents who attempted to save her life.
Executive produced by Hollywood luminaries including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Alfonso Cuarón, the Tunisian-French co-production has already garnered significant acclaim in a short span of time, winning a Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, the UNICEF Award, an Edipo Re Award, an Arca Cinema Giovani Award, as well as the CICT-UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni Award at its Venice Film Festival world premiere. It also received a thunderous standing ovation lasting over 20 minutes — the longest in the festival’s history.
The film has been selected for a multitude of festivals worldwide, including the Toronto, Chicago, San Sebastián, BFI London, Cairo, Rio de Janeiro, and Doha film festivals thus far.
It is set to screen at 6:45 pm on October 25th at Chinese 6 Hall.
PALESTINE 36 takes place in 1936 Mandate Palestine, as several villages were rising up against British rule. Thousands of Palestinians were imprisoned, beaten, and exiled as rising numbers of Jewish immigrants fled fascism in Europe to settle in Palestine, forcing Palestinians to fight fascism in their own homeland, marking a decisive moment for the British Empire and the future of the entire region.
The film held its world premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, receiving a standing ovation. It is also poised to be Palestine’s official submission to the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.
It features a stunning roster of A-List international and Palestinian actors; including Hiam Abbass (PARADISE NOW, BLADE RUNNER 49), cinema and theater icon Kamel El Basha, Saleh Bakri (SALT OF THE SEA), Yasmine Al-Massri (Netflix’s CASTLEVANIA, THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US!); alongside top shot British actor Jeremy Irons, the acclaimed Tunisian actor and model Dhafer L’Abidine, Billy Howle, GAME OF THRONES stars Liam Cunningham and Robert Aramayo, Syrian actor Jalal Altawil, as well as the debuting Yafa Bakri and Karim Daoud Anaya.
The film is produced by Ossama Bawardi and Azzam Fakhrildin, with co-production by Cat Villiers, Hani Farsi, Nils Åstrand, Olivier Barbier, Katrin Pors, Hamza Ali, and Elissa Pierre (through Philistine Films, Autonomous, Corniche Media, MK Productions, and Snowglobe); cinematography by Hélène Louvart; and music by Ben Frost.
Director Annemarie Jacir has stated, “The story follows a group of people who each find themselves in a position they never asked for, and with something so much bigger than they know hanging over them. Making PALESTINE 36 has been the most challenging endeavor of my life. I never imagined this past year of blood, violence, and death would be the year I would create something made with so many collective hands and hearts, and so much love and defiance.”
PALESTINE 36 screens at 2:30 pm on October 25th, at Chinese Hall 3, where an exclusive Q&A session with the director will be held.
PROMISED SKY by Erige Sehiri — which premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard — is ultimately a tale about sisterhood and its bonds. Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist, has lived in Tunisia for ten years. Her home becomes a refuge for Naney, a young mother seeking a better future, and Jolie, a strong-willed student carrying her family’s hopes. The arrival of a little orphan girl challenges their sense of solidarity in a tense social climate, revealing both their fragility and strength.
Shortly after its prestigious premiere, the film went on to score three top prizes at the Festival du Film Francophone d’Angoulême in France — Best Director, Best Actress for Deborah Naney, and Best Screenplay, respectively.
It stars Aïssa Maïga, Laetitia Ky, Deborah Naney, and Tunisian actor Mohamed Grayaa, with production by Didar Domehri, and cinematography by Frida Marzouk, who previously worked with Sehiri on her acclaimed UNDER THE FIG TREES, also worked on the John Wick films, as well as the surreal psychological horror BLACK SWAN.
You can catch its screening at 3 pm on October 23rd, at Chinese 2 Hall.
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB — Tunisia’s official submission for the 98th Academy Awards — is a docudrama that tells the shocking true story of a girl from Gaza who was murdered by Israeli forces.
On January 29th, 2024, Red Crescent volunteers received an emergency call from a 6-year-old girl trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they did everything they could to dispatch an ambulance to her location. Her name was Hind Rajab. The film uses real voice recordings from the victim and Red Crescent correspondents who attempted to save her life.
Executive produced by Hollywood luminaries including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Alfonso Cuarón, the Tunisian-French co-production has already garnered significant acclaim in a short span of time, winning a Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, the UNICEF Award, an Edipo Re Award, an Arca Cinema Giovani Award, as well as the CICT-UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni Award at its Venice Film Festival world premiere. It also received a thunderous standing ovation lasting over 20 minutes — the longest in the festival’s history.
The film has been selected for a multitude of festivals worldwide, including the Toronto, Chicago, San Sebastián, BFI London, Cairo, Rio de Janeiro, and Doha film festivals thus far.
It is set to screen at 6:45 pm on October 25th at Chinese 6 Hall.
PALESTINE 36 takes place in 1936 Mandate Palestine, as several villages were rising up against British rule. Thousands of Palestinians were imprisoned, beaten, and exiled as rising numbers of Jewish immigrants fled fascism in Europe to settle in Palestine, forcing Palestinians to fight fascism in their own homeland, marking a decisive moment for the British Empire and the future of the entire region.
The film held its world premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, receiving a standing ovation. It is also poised to be Palestine’s official submission to the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.
It features a stunning roster of A-List international and Palestinian actors; including Hiam Abbass (PARADISE NOW, BLADE RUNNER 49), cinema and theater icon Kamel El Basha, Saleh Bakri (SALT OF THE SEA), Yasmine Al-Massri (Netflix’s CASTLEVANIA, THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US!); alongside top shot British actor Jeremy Irons, the acclaimed Tunisian actor and model Dhafer L’Abidine, Billy Howle, GAME OF THRONES stars Liam Cunningham and Robert Aramayo, Syrian actor Jalal Altawil, as well as the debuting Yafa Bakri and Karim Daoud Anaya.
The film is produced by Ossama Bawardi and Azzam Fakhrildin, with co-production by Cat Villiers, Hani Farsi, Nils Åstrand, Olivier Barbier, Katrin Pors, Hamza Ali, and Elissa Pierre (through Philistine Films, Autonomous, Corniche Media, MK Productions, and Snowglobe); cinematography by Hélène Louvart; and music by Ben Frost.
Director Annemarie Jacir has stated, “The story follows a group of people who each find themselves in a position they never asked for, and with something so much bigger than they know hanging over them. Making PALESTINE 36 has been the most challenging endeavor of my life. I never imagined this past year of blood, violence, and death would be the year I would create something made with so many collective hands and hearts, and so much love and defiance.”
PALESTINE 36 screens at 2:30 pm on October 25th, at Chinese Hall 3, where an exclusive Q&A session with the director will be held.
PROMISED SKY by Erige Sehiri — which premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard — is ultimately a tale about sisterhood and its bonds. Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist, has lived in Tunisia for ten years. Her home becomes a refuge for Naney, a young mother seeking a better future, and Jolie, a strong-willed student carrying her family’s hopes. The arrival of a little orphan girl challenges their sense of solidarity in a tense social climate, revealing both their fragility and strength.
Shortly after its prestigious premiere, the film went on to score three top prizes at the Festival du Film Francophone d’Angoulême in France — Best Director, Best Actress for Deborah Naney, and Best Screenplay, respectively.
It stars Aïssa Maïga, Laetitia Ky, Deborah Naney, and Tunisian actor Mohamed Grayaa, with production by Didar Domehri, and cinematography by Frida Marzouk, who previously worked with Sehiri on her acclaimed UNDER THE FIG TREES, also worked on the John Wick films, as well as the surreal psychological horror BLACK SWAN.
You can catch its screening at 3 pm on October 23rd, at Chinese 2 Hall.
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