Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara back Gaza-set drama

Major Hollywood stars including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, and Rooney Mara have boarded Kaouther Ben Hania's Gaza-set drama "The Voice of Hind Rajab" as executive producers, giving the film a powerful push ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival.

They are joined by Pitt's Plan B partners Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, along with acclaimed filmmakers Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest) and Alfonso Cuarón (Roma). The project also has backing from leading production entities, including the UK's Film4 and Saudi Arabia's state-supported MBC Studios.

The film will premiere in Venice on September 3 before heading to the Toronto International Film Festival for its North American debut.

"The Voice of Hind Rajab" revisits the heartbreaking story of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed in January 2024 while fleeing Gaza City with relatives. According to multiple investigations, Israeli forces opened fire on the family's car. Hind's final hours were captured in harrowing voice recordings with Red Crescent volunteers, who stayed on the line as they struggled to dispatch an ambulance to her location.

(L-R) Brad Pitt, Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Alfonso Cuarón and Jonathan Glazer. Photo: Collected

While Israel denied having troops in the area, independent investigations by The Washington Post and Sky News—using satellite imagery—confirmed Israeli tanks were present at the scene. A separate forensic inquiry with Al Jazeera documented 335 bullet holes in the family's car.

The film is Ben Hania's follow-up to her Oscar-nominated "Four Daughters", which blended fiction and documentary, and her earlier feature "The Man Who Sold His Skin", also an Academy Award nominee.

Produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha through Mime Films and Tanit Films, alongside Odessa Rae of RaeFilm Studios and James Wilson of Jw Films Production, the drama features performances by Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Clara Khoury, and Amer Hlehel.

Ahead of its Venice debut, The Party Film Sales closed distribution deals across much of Europe, with CAA Media Finance handling representation in North America.

The Venice Film Festival opens against the backdrop of escalating war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On August 30, hundreds of political and grassroots groups plan to march along the Santa Maria Elisabetta avenue on the Lido, protesting Israel's military actions in Gaza and the West Bank.

Meanwhile, over 200 artists—including director Ken Loach, Italian actor Toni Servillo, French filmmakers Céline Sciamma and Audrey Diwan, and Palestinian duo Arab and Tarzan Nasser—have signed an open letter urging the festival to denounce what they call "genocide and ethnic cleansing" in Gaza.