Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania declined to accept an award at a ceremony in Berlin, leaving the trophy on stage in protest against what she described as international political support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
Ben Hania was presented with the “Most Valuable Film” prize at the Cinema for Peace gala for her project ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’. However, she chose not to take the award, stating that the killing of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab by the Israeli military was not an isolated incident but part of what she called a wider pattern of violence.
Addressing the audience, Ben Hania said, “Peace is not a perfume sprayed over violence so power can feel refined and comfortable. If we speak about peace, we must speak about justice. Justice means accountability.”
She alleged that Rajab, members of her family and two paramedics sent to rescue her were killed with the complicity of powerful governments and institutions. The director added that she did not want her documentary to be used for what she termed “image-laundering” and left the award behind as a symbolic gesture.
“I refuse to let their deaths become a backdrop for a polite speech about peace,” she said, adding that she would consider accepting such recognition only when peace is pursued as a legal and moral obligation grounded in accountability.
Her protest follows a separate open letter signed by more than 80 film industry figures, including actors Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton and Brian Cox, and directors Mike Leigh and Adam McKay.
The signatories criticised the Berlin International Film Festival, also taking place in the German capital this month, accusing it of failing to address alleged violations of international law in Gaza while expressing strong solidarity with other global conflicts.
