The inaugural Doha Film Festival kicked off Thursday with the official Middle East premiere of Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s moving drama “ The Voice of Hind Rajab ” standing as testimony to Qatar’s role as a crucial driver for independent Arab cinema just as the country aims to raise its profile in the global film industry sphere.

The moving opening ceremony on a balmy evening in the Katara Cultural Village marked the first time a presentation of the powerful film – which tells the true story of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who was stranded in a car that was attacked by Israeli forces in Gaza and later found dead – was attended by the victim’s mother, Wissam Hamada, who on stage said: “I lost my daugther, but I did not lose my humanity.”

Hind Rajab’s mother did not watch t

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