The Palestinian experience has been a mainstay of world cinema for decades. Despite countless obstacles, the Palestinian Ministry of Culture has submitted 18 titles for the international feature Oscar since 2003, earning nominations in 2006 and 2014. But this year, at a pivotal moment in its history, three films by acclaimed filmmakers, each set in war-torn Gaza, are nominated for Oscar consideration: Annemarie Jacir's Palestinian film “Palestine 36,” “All That's Left of” by Cherien Dabis You”, representing Jordan, and “The Voice of Hind Rajab” by Kaouther Ben Hania, selected by Tunisia It's a notable field, one that Jacir believes is more of a coincidence than a reflection of the political climate.
“I think there are so many Palestinian filmmakers and people have been working hard for a long time,” Jacir says. “I remember when I made my last film, there were three films shooting at the same time.”
From the outbreak of the Arab Revolt in 1936 to the generational trauma of the capture of Jaffa during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the current war between Israel and Hamas, each film has a different and important story to tell. Notably, both “Palestine 36” and “All That Remains of You” were scheduled to begin production in Palestine just days after Israel began an air assault in October 2023 in response to the Hamas-led attack on October 7.
After struggling alone to get the film off the ground, Jacir says the real-time events made it difficult to “move forward emotionally, mentally and financially.”
“Nothing was clear,” he says. “We just didn't know if we would actually be able to film, if we would be able to start something, if we would be able to finish… We were making it up as we went along and hoping for the best. It's kind of a mix, I would say, of stubbornness and maybe stupidity.”
Saleh Bakri and Cherien Dabis in “All That Remains of You.”
(watermelon images)
At the same time, Dabis had been preparing with a Palestinian crew for five months with the intention of filming the entire project there, only to be forced to make the “devastating” decision to move production to Jordan, Greece and Cyprus. (Hopes of returning eventually faded.)
“In a way, the film lived what most Palestinians live: war, exile, flight,” he says. “All the uncertainty, the financial and logistical crisis of all that. I think what really encouraged me during that time was knowing that the movie was more relevant than ever and that it had to be made.”
The harsh reality of civilians under constant fire and in a much worse position than Jacir's motivated his team to continue with “Palestine 36.” She bluntly observes: “We had no right not to do it, you know what I mean? Actually, it's like we're the privileged ones. We're not in Gaza. It didn't seem like it was an option for any of us to stop because they weren't doing it and we thought, 'Well, we're doing it for them, too.'”
Representing the humanity of the Palestinian people, who have suffered greatly under the current occupation, is one of the reasons why Ben Hania felt such urgency in bringing to the screen the heartbreaking final hours of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, less than a year and a half after her death under Israeli fire.
Dhafer L'Abidine and Yasmine Al Massri in “Palestine 36”.
(watermelon images)
“There was something about silencing their voices. [that] “It was completely abhorrent to me, and I know that cinema is the place for empathy and the place where you can put a face and raise your voice,” says Ben Hania. “So, for me it was part of saying, 'Stop this dehumanization of Palestinian victims.' You see the pain in this film, you can feel the sense of what's happening.”
Despite critical praise and, in the case of “Voice,” a record-breaking acclaim at the Venice Film Festival, neither of these presentations managed to secure major distributors in the U.S. “Voice of Hind Rajab” is being released by relative newcomer Willa, while “Palestine 36” and “All That's Left of You” are scheduled to be released by Watermelon Pictures, traditionally a production entity. (The Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” was self-released in theaters and, last month, on streaming platforms.) Ben Hania says that's nothing new: Films about Palestine simply aren't reaching American audiences.
“I'm frustrated because, as a filmmaker, when you make a movie you want everyone to see it, especially this one,” says Ben Hania. “So, I mean, yes, it's a big frustration, but I can't put a gun [to a] distributor and tell them: 'Distribute my film.' When you make films, you face several obstacles and this is one of them.”
Despite the obstacles, Jacir says never have so many people wanted to know the historical background behind one of his films.
“People are curious,” Jacir says. “Before, people said, 'Oh, it's too complicated and let's leave it. I don't want to know because it's too complicated.' I don't think people are like that anymore. I don't think the new generation is like that anymore. I think people really want to know, they want to see these stories, they'll make their own judgments and thoughts, and they'll have their own feelings about it.”
