Oscars: Palestine Submits Annemarie Jacir’s Historical Drama ‘Palestine 36’ for International Feature Race

Annemarie Jacir’s drama “Palestine 36,” which reconstructs the Palestinian revolt against British colonial rule in 1936, has been picked as Palestine’s official entry for Palestine for the Oscars‘ international feature film race.

The selection of the timely film, which will soon premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, was made by an independent committee of Palestinian film professionals and confirmed by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.

“Palestine 36” follows a young man named Yusuf who gets caught up in political upheaval as tensions rise in Jerusalem and his village amid British crackdowns prompted by the arrival of Jewish immigrants escaping antisemitism in Europe. The hot-button epic features a high-profile cast comprising Jeremy Irons as a colonial commissioner, Hiam Abbas (“Succession”), Liam Cunningham and Saleh Bakri (“The Teacher”).

When the Israel-Hamas War broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, Jacir, who is Palestinian, was just one week away from starting principal photography on “Palestine 36” in Bethlehem. Production was put on hold and subsequently started in Jordan before returning for additional shooting in Palestine.

France’s mk2 films and Lucky Number are handling international sales. Mad Solutions hold MENA region rights.

“Palestine 36” is produced by Ossama Bawardi and Azzam Fakhriddin for Philistine Films. Additional production companies on board include Autonomous and Corniche Media from the U.K., France’s MK Productions and Denmark’s Snowglobe.

The Doha Film Institute and Katara Studios are also among the backers of Jacir’s epic along with BBC Film and the BFI, Watermelon Pictures’ Red Sea Fund, Roya Media Group, Metafora Productions, Cocoon Films, TRT, the Jordan Film Fund, Koala VFX, the Danish Film Institute, Film I Väst, Sørfond, CNC – Aide au Cinema du Monde and Region Ile-de-France.

“Palestine 36” is the 18th Palestinian Oscar submission, and the fourth directed by Jacir following “Wajib” in 2018, “When I Saw You” in 2013 and “Salt of This Sea” in 2009.

So far Palestine has received two nominations in the category, both for films directed by Hany Abu-Assad: “Paradise Now” in 2006 and “Omar” in 2014.

The Oscar international feature shortlist will be announced on Dec. 16 and the final five nominees will be announced on Jan. 22.