TEHRAN – Iranian director Hamed Saadat’s documentary “Hoda” on a survivor of Minab school’s tragedy, is currently in the final stages of editing, the Documentary and Animation Center (DEFC) has announced. 

The film provides a poignant look at the life of a survivor from the recent tragic US-Israeli attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab during the Ramadan War, Mehr reported on Wednesday. 

The documentary centers on Hoda, a young girl who was pulled alive from the rubble after being trapped until nightfall following a devastating strike on her school. While Hoda survived, the attack claimed the lives of her brother and cousin, who were martyred on the school grounds.

The film focuses on Hoda’s life today, capturing her journey through the hospital, her home, and the ruins of the school in Minab, ,Saadat explained.

The narrative primarily explores the severe psychological and physical trauma she continues to endure long after the incident, he added. 

“The Minab tragedy is a clear example of a war crime,” Saadat stated, emphasizing the importance of documenting such events. “While much has been said about the martyrs and the school itself, I chose to focus on a survivor because their suffering is ongoing. The children and families who lived through this are the living witnesses to this injustice. Their pain continues today and will likely persist into the future. I wanted to portray the dimensions of this tragedy through a living subject.”

"Hoda" is part of a broader collection of documentaries produced by the Documentary and Animation Center, aimed at documenting the events and human costs of the war imposed on the country by the US and Zionist regime. 

The film is expected to be ready for screening following the completion of its post-production phase.

On February 28, the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan province, became the site of a devastating massacre as the United States and Israel initiated their strikes against Iran. 

While dozens of girls and boys aged between 7 and 12 were beginning their lessons, the school was targeted by a missile strike that caused the building to collapse, trapping children and teachers beneath the rubble. Iranian authorities confirmed a final death toll of 168 people, with at least 95 others wounded, marking one of the most harrowing incidents of the conflict's opening day.

Despite attempts by US and Israeli authorities to distance themselves from the carnage as images of the tragedy spread across social media, detailed forensic and digital investigations have painted a starkly different picture. 

An analysis by Al Jazeera’s digital investigations unit, utilizing over a decade of satellite imagery and recent video clips, revealed that the school was a clearly distinct civilian facility, separated from any adjacent military sites for at least ten years. Furthermore, witness accounts and satellite-based analyses confirmed that the school was triple tapped by three separate, deliberate strikes, leaving no doubt about the nature of the attack.

The international community has faced mounting evidence regarding the responsibility for this atrocity, with investigations from major global outlets including The New York Times, BBC Verify, CBC, and NPR all concluding that the United States was responsible for the strike. 

These findings have raised fundamental questions about the intelligence used to justify the bombing, as the patterns of the strike suggest a direct targeting of a civilian educational institution. The Minab school tragedy now stands as a somber testament to the immense human cost of the aggression and a focal point for those demanding international accountability.

SAB/