Academy Award-nominated Gaza-set drama The Voice of Hind Rajab has launched in the Middle East and North Africa on MBC Shahid, with the regional streamer giving it one of its biggest pushes to date for an independent Arab-language film.
The film, reconstructing events surrounding the real-life killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza by Israeli forces in early 2024, has been making waves ever since its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last September, where it provoked a record ovation and won the Grand Jury Prize.
Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, the film is nominated as Tunisia’s entry to the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards, as well as for a BAFTA, having also been nominated at the Golden Globes.
Saudi Arabia‘s media and entertainment giant MBC holds exclusive MENA streaming rights on the film, on which its production arm MBC Studios was an executive producer and co-financier.
“The exclusive streaming of The Voice of Hind Rajab reflects on MBC Shahid’s commitment in offering award winning global and human-centred cinematic works,” the platform said.
Prior to the MBC Shadid streaming release, The Voice of Hind Rajab played most of the MENA region’s big fall festivals, including Doha, Marrakech, the Red Sea and Carthage.
It also received a limited theatrical release, overseen by Mad Distribution, in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Palestine.
The picture is produced by Mime Films and Tanit Films (Nadim Cheikhrouha), James Wilson, Odessa Rae. Alongside MBC Studios, executive producers include Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Jonathan Glazer, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuarón, among others.
The MENA streaming launch on Friday coincided with an announcement from the film’s U.S. distributor Willa that it was expanding the release to more than 70 cinemas nationwide, with Ben Hania participating in a series of live Q&As in New York and L.A. over the coming days.