TRT co-production Palestine 36 makes Oscars international feature shortlist
The film sheds light on a pivotal moment in Palestinian history, the British handover of Palestinian land to Jewish immigrants.
TRT co-production “Palestine 36,” Palestine’s official submission to the Academy Awards, has been shortlisted in the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Oscars, marking a significant achievement for Palestinian cinema and regional filmmaking.
Zahid Sobaci, the director general of TRT, welcomed the news in a post on X, writing, “We are proud to carry a story that sheds light on Palestine’s history to the world through the power of cinema.”
“Palestine 36,” directed by Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir, revisits the 1936 Arab revolt against British rule, tracing the lives of Palestinian workers and rebels amid the early roots of dispossession.
Produced by British-Lebanese Sawsan Asfari, the historical drama is grounded in extensive research and archival materials, highlighting Palestinian universities, institutions and strong communities that once thrived in what are now Israeli-occupied territories.
“This goes to show that Palestine was not a land without a people for a people without a land,” Asfari said in an interview last month. “The land had people … the British chose to ignore that.”
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received a 20-minute standing ovation, and was selected last month as Palestine’s entry for the Academy Awards’ international feature category.
Irish actor Liam Cunningham, who plays a British officer in the film, said it is crucial in showing “the mess that the British made — the arrogant mess to decide other people’s lives” and how history led to “the genocide in Gaza and the ongoing destruction of the West Bank.”
Palestine 36 is one of 15 films to advance in the International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards from submissions representing 86 countries or regions.
The shortlist was determined through a preliminary round of voting open to members from all Academy branches and includes films from across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.