Thanks to Donald Trump’s travel ban, one of the lead actors in an Oscar-nominated film about the death of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl will not be able to attend this year’s Academy Awards.
Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees, who plays a main role in acclaimed docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab, blamed the U.S. president for his inability to attend this year’s award ceremony, where the film is a contender for Best International Feature.
“Three days left to the Oscars. Our film The Voice of Hind Rajab is nominated for an Academy Award. I had the honor of playing one of the lead roles in a story the world needed to hear. But I will not be there,” Malhees wrote on Instagram. “I am not allowed to enter the United States because of my Palestinian citizenship.”
“It hurts,” he wrote. “But here is the truth. You can block a passport. You cannot block a voice. I am Palestinian, and I stand with pride and dignity. My spirit will be with the Voice of Hind Rajab that night. Good luck to all of you. Our story is bigger than any barrier, and it will be heard.”
In December 2025, the Trump administration announced that it would expand its travel restrictions, applying to an additional 20 countries and people who are issued travel documents by the Palestinian Authority. The restrictions previously banned those with Palestinian Authority passports from traveling to the U.S. for business, work, pleasure, or education. The expanded ban now includes the purpose of emigration to the U.S.
The Voice of Hind Rajab, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, has already won major global accolades, including the Venice International Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize, where it also broke the record for the longest standing ovation.
The film follows the humanitarian organization Red Crescent Society in its quest to rescue Hind, who was killed by Israeli forces in January 2024. Hind and her family were attempting to flee Gaza during the war. She was killed alongside six family members.
Malhees plays the role of a call center operator attempting to help Hind while she’s trapped in a car set ablaze. “I am so scared,” Hind said to the operator in a recorded conversation. “Call someone to come get me, please.” Her voice recording is woven into the film.
Hind’s real-life mother, Wissam Hamada, will also not be able to attend this year’s Oscars. Hamada was evacuated alongside family members to Greece, where they were granted asylum. The efforts to get them to safety were pushed by the film’s executive producer, Amed Khan, according to Variety. Hamada has widely spoken about her daughter’s death and legacy, opening the 15th Doha Film Festival in 2025 with a heartfelt address.
“My message is not just words – it’s the pain of a mother who lost her daughter, and then found in her universal love a message from God, and understood that my role is to carry the voice of the children of Gaza to the world," Hamada said, “the children who live in the heart of war, in darkness, deprived of their most basic rights, of their dreams that are snatched away before they grow up.”
The Voice of Hind Rajab, a Tunisian-French production, was backed by a slew of Hollywood executive producers, including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Spike Lee, and The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer.
The film is nominated at the Oscars alongside Brazil’s The Secret Agent, France’s It Was Just an Accident, Norway’s Sentimental Value, and Spain’s Sirāt.
