Things are cooking for cinema in Qatar as the gulf state ramps up its presence on the Middle East and North Africa fall film festival circuit this week with the launch of the Doha Film Festival .

Kaouther Ben Hania’s Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix backed T he Voice of Hind Rajab , about the real-life killing of a six-year-old Palestinian girl by Israeli troops in Gaza in early 2024, opens the inaugural edition running from November 20 to 28.

The drama, constructed around an audio recording of Hind Rajab begging for help, has special resonance in Qatar which is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian people’s right to an independent state and was thanked by President Donald Trump in October for its mediation efforts in the Gaza peace deal.

“Her voice is still very loud and very

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