Doha Film Institute (DFI) announced that the 2025 Doha Film Festival will open with The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia, France) by award-winning director Kaouther Ben Hania, marking a powerful start to Qatar's spotlight of global cinema.

A recipient of the Institute’s grants programme, the film captures the final moments of an innocent child, Hind Rajab, whose voice shook the conscience of the world.

The film won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the recently concluded 82nd Venice Film Festival.

DFI noted that this selection reflects its mission to champion truth, give voice to the unheard, and boldly confront the realities that shape our world.

In a press statement, festival director and DFI CEO Fatma Hassan Alremiahi said: “To open our festival with The Voice of Hind Rajab is to honour truth — fragile, heartbreaking, and urgent. Hind’s voice, trembling yet unyielding, speaks to every one of us. It is the story of all children, women, and men of Palestine whose lives have been shattered by violent aggression of the Israeli occupation and whose resilience continues to inspire global conscience”.

Hollywood luminaries, including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara and Alfonso Cuarón have joined on board as executive producers, and the film will represent Tunisia at the 98th Academy Awards.

Ben Hania has established herself as one of the Arab world's most compelling filmmakers. Her remarkable journey includes studies at Tunisia's Ecole des Arts et du Cinéma and Paris's prestigious La Fémis.

Taking place from November 20–28, DFF represents the bold next chapter in DFI’s mission to nurture regional talent and champion urgent and authentic stories in cinema. The festival will transform iconic locations across Doha, including Katara Cultural Village, Msheireb Downtown Doha, and the Museum of Islamic Art, into vibrant hubs of cultural exchange.