By Berk Kutay Gokmen
ISTANBUL (AA) – The director of The Voice of Hind Rajab declined to accept an award at the Berlin International Film Festival this week after an Israeli general was recognized at the same event.
Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania chose not to receive the “Most Valuable Film” award at the “Cinema for Peace” gathering Monday which took place alongside the festival and left the trophy behind.
In her remarks, she said she felt a sense of responsibility rather than gratitude, using the moment to make a statement about justice and accountability for Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024, while rescuers attempting to reach her were also fired upon.
“Justice means accountability. Without accountability, there is no peace.
“The Israeli army killed Hind Rajab; killed her family; killed the two paramedics who came to save her, with the complicity of the world’s most powerful governments and institutions.
“I refuse to let their deaths become a backdrop for a polite speech about peace. Not while the structures that enabled them remain untouched,” she said.
"So tonight, I will not take this award home. I leave it here as a reminder. And when peace is pursued as a legal and moral obligation, rooted in accountability for genocide, then I will come back and accept it with joy."
Ben Hania added that Hind’s death was “not an exception, it's part of a genocide,” criticizing political figures who describe large-scale civilian killings as “self-defense” or “complex circumstances” while undermining demonstrators.
"Peace requires justice and accountability, not glossy slogans," she said.
The Voice of Hind Rajab is based on the true story of Hind Rajab, who was trapped in her family car on Jan. 29, 2024 after it came under Israeli army fire in Gaza City and was found dead after nearly two weeks of uncertainty.
Hind was traveling with her family, including her 15-year-old cousin Layan Hamadeh, fleeing fighting in northern Gaza when they came under Israeli fire, according to the Palestine Red Crescent.
The film centers on the audio recording of Hind’s final phone call to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, in which she pleaded for help.
The incident drew global criticism after reports emerged that Israel had initially sought to deny her death, along with claims that the killing was unjust.