‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ director discusses struggle to get film distributed in the US: “We’ve had a hard time”
The director of The Voice of Hind Rajab has discussed the struggle she has endured to confirm a US distributor for the film, saying, “We’ve had a hard time”.
Kaouther Ben Hania was speaking in a new interview with Variety in which she opened up about the difficulties the film has faced in the past few months, despite the rapturous response to its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
The movie, which follows the story of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli forces during her attempted rescue by the Palestinian Red Crescent from the wreckage of a car, uses the child’s real voice in a poignant and highly moving display which left audiences and critics in tears.
Subsequently, with an applause lasting some 23 minutes, The Voice of Hind Rajab garnered the longest applause at the festival, something which Hania said was “beyond my expectations”.
However, there has been an issue with securing a distributor so it can be shown in the US, as the director said: “We’ve had a hard time in finding a big distributor for the film. As you know, it started out very well at Venice, so we could have been picked up by a major distributor. But that hasn’t been the case.”
Going on to note how the film is going to be distributed in the country by its executive producer, Willa, and that it has been entered into the international Oscars race by Tunisia, Hania is hopeful that it will resonate with US audiences.
“I hope that American audiences will watch it, and also do something about it. Because it’s not a movie where one can say, ‘Enjoy it, and go home!’ So we’ll see [what happens] through the Oscar run and the release,” she added.
The director said part of the struggle of the film affecting those who see it is because “Palestinian voices aren’t heard much, you know. They are often silenced. This is starting to change a little bit. But it’s still very, very difficult.”
The film has a range of Hollywood executive producers, including Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix, the latter of whom attended the Venice premiere and was visibly emotional as he hugged the cast.
The Voice of Hind Rajab will be released in the US on December 17th.
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