Los Angeles [US], March 13 : Kaouther Ben Hania's docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab is nominated for Best International Feature at Sunday's Oscars. However, one of its stars won't be able to attend the ceremony.
Motaz Malhees, who plays a call center operator desperately trying to help 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab as she's trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, on Thursday shared that he is unable to represent the film at the awards due to US President Donald Trump's travel ban on people with Palestinian Authority passports, as per Variety.
Taking to Instagram, Motaz wrote, "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."
He added, "I am not allowed to enter the United States because of my Palestinian citizenship."
Motaz continued, "It hurts. 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, Trump banned people with Palestinian Authority passports from entering the US alongside those from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. Though Malhees will not be present at the Oscars, the film's director Ben Hania, who is Tunisian, should be able to attend.