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THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB nominated for Best International Feature Film for 98th Academy Awards
25 January 2026
Following her 2020 feature THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN and her 2023 documentary FOUR DAUGHTERS, acclaimed Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania has earned her third Oscar nomination with her latest docudrama THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, which has just been nominated for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards — marking a significant triumph for Palestinian cinema.
This also marks the fourth time MAD Solutions has had a film nominated for the Oscars, following OMAR in 2013 and THEEB in 2014 in the Best Foreign Language Film category, as well as AVE MARIA in 2015 in the Best Short Film category.
The nomination crowns a remarkable journey for THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, which has already garnered international acclaim. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language category, and longlisted for the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards in two major categories: Best Director and Film Not in the English Language.
A Tunisian-French co-production, THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB is based on the shocking true story of Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, incorporating real-life voice recordings between Hind and the Red Crescent volunteers who attempted to save her.
Having already garnered 15 awards during its extensive festival run, the film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, where it received a thunderous standing ovation lasting over 20 minutes — the longest in the festival’s history — and won multiple honors, including the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize.
It was notably selected as the closing film of the 46th Cairo International Film Festival and the opening film of the inaugural Doha Film Festival, and continued to garner accolades including the Audience Award at the Montpellier International Mediterranean Film Festival in France (Cinemed), the Mostra de València-Cinema del Mediterrani, and the Warsaw International Film Festival, as well as the Grand Prize for Best Film of 2025 at the Ghent International Film Festival in Belgium, and most recently, it received the Best Actress Award for Saja Kilani and an Honorary Jury Award at the Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia.
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB is executive produced by Hollywood luminaries including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Alfonso Cuarón, in addition to Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner through their company Plan B Entertainment, who received “In Association With” credits alongside Film4 and MBC Studios, with other prominent figures joining as executive producers such as journalist and producer Jemima Khan, Canadian businessman and Lionsgate founder Frank Giustra, and jewellery designer and social figure Sabine Getty.
Filmed in Tunisia and starring Amer Hlehel, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees, and Saja Kilani, the film’s worldwide sales are being handled by Paris-based The Party Film Sales, which is co-representing the North American rights with CAA Medi
a Finance. Theatrical and cultural rights in the Arab World are managed by MAD Distribution.
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB is produced by Tanit Films and Mime Films (Nadim Cheikhrouha), RaeFilm Studios (Odessa Rae), and Jw Films Production (James Wilson) in collaboration with the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The director, Kaouther Ben Hania, is among the most acclaimed filmmakers of the Arab World, known for her bold storytelling. Her previous film, FOUR DAUGHTERS, won the L’Oeil d’Or at Cannes and was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar in 2024. Her 2020 feature, THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN, was nominated for Best International Feature and won Best Actor in the Horizons Section at Venice. Her earlier works, including BEAUTY AND THE DOGS, ZAINEB HATES THE SNOW, and CHALLAT OF TUNIS, have also earned international acclaim.
This also marks the fourth time MAD Solutions has had a film nominated for the Oscars, following OMAR in 2013 and THEEB in 2014 in the Best Foreign Language Film category, as well as AVE MARIA in 2015 in the Best Short Film category.
The nomination crowns a remarkable journey for THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, which has already garnered international acclaim. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language category, and longlisted for the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards in two major categories: Best Director and Film Not in the English Language.
A Tunisian-French co-production, THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB is based on the shocking true story of Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, incorporating real-life voice recordings between Hind and the Red Crescent volunteers who attempted to save her.
Having already garnered 15 awards during its extensive festival run, the film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, where it received a thunderous standing ovation lasting over 20 minutes — the longest in the festival’s history — and won multiple honors, including the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize.
It was notably selected as the closing film of the 46th Cairo International Film Festival and the opening film of the inaugural Doha Film Festival, and continued to garner accolades including the Audience Award at the Montpellier International Mediterranean Film Festival in France (Cinemed), the Mostra de València-Cinema del Mediterrani, and the Warsaw International Film Festival, as well as the Grand Prize for Best Film of 2025 at the Ghent International Film Festival in Belgium, and most recently, it received the Best Actress Award for Saja Kilani and an Honorary Jury Award at the Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia.
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB is executive produced by Hollywood luminaries including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Alfonso Cuarón, in addition to Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner through their company Plan B Entertainment, who received “In Association With” credits alongside Film4 and MBC Studios, with other prominent figures joining as executive producers such as journalist and producer Jemima Khan, Canadian businessman and Lionsgate founder Frank Giustra, and jewellery designer and social figure Sabine Getty.
Filmed in Tunisia and starring Amer Hlehel, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees, and Saja Kilani, the film’s worldwide sales are being handled by Paris-based The Party Film Sales, which is co-representing the North American rights with CAA Medi
a Finance. Theatrical and cultural rights in the Arab World are managed by MAD Distribution.
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB is produced by Tanit Films and Mime Films (Nadim Cheikhrouha), RaeFilm Studios (Odessa Rae), and Jw Films Production (James Wilson) in collaboration with the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The director, Kaouther Ben Hania, is among the most acclaimed filmmakers of the Arab World, known for her bold storytelling. Her previous film, FOUR DAUGHTERS, won the L’Oeil d’Or at Cannes and was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar in 2024. Her 2020 feature, THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN, was nominated for Best International Feature and won Best Actor in the Horizons Section at Venice. Her earlier works, including BEAUTY AND THE DOGS, ZAINEB HATES THE SNOW, and CHALLAT OF TUNIS, have also earned international acclaim.
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