PALESTINE 36 shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at 98th Academy Awards®

• Annemarie Jacir’s epic historical drama advances to the final 15 - as the film enters its eighth week in UK cinemas

PALESTINE 36, the new feature from acclaimed Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir, has been officially shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards®, representing Palestine and advancing to the final 15 films selected from 86 eligible countries and regions.

The shortlist recognition arrives as PALESTINE 36 enters its eighth consecutive week in UK cinemas, continuing a rare, audience-driven theatrical run distributed by Curzon.

Oscar nominations will be announced Thursday 22 January 2026, with the 98th Academy Awards taking place Sunday 15 March 2026.

Global momentum, major festival recognition

An exceptional festival run has positioned PALESTINE 36 as one of the standout international titles of the year - marked by major wins, key premieres, and sustained momentum across territories.

• Tokyo International Film Festival - Tokyo Grand Prix (Governor of Tokyo Award), the festival’s top prize
• São Paulo International Film Festival - Audience Award (Best International Fiction)
• Asian World Film Festival - Snow Leopard Special Jury Award 
• Asia Pacific Screen Awards - Best Screenplay nomination
• Arab Film Festival (San Francisco) - Audience Award
• European Film Awards - Shortlist (Feature Film Selection 2026)
• London Critics’ Circle Film Awards - Breakthrough Performer of the Year nomination (Robert Aramayo)

The film has also screened internationally including the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), AFI Fest (Los Angeles), Rome Film Festival, Marrakech International Film Festival, and the BFI London Film Festival, with ongoing releases across multiple territories.

A landmark moment for Palestinian cinema

With this recognition, PALESTINE 36 becomes Annemarie Jacir’s fourth film to be submitted by Palestine for the Academy Awards’ International Feature Film race - following Salt of This Sea, When I Saw You and Wajib.

It is also only the third Palestinian submission to reach the Academy’s International Feature Film shortlist, following Hany Abu-Assad’s Omar and From Ground Zero, the Gaza-made anthology created by a collective of filmmakers.

About the film

Set against the seismic events of 1936, PALESTINE 36 follows Yusuf, a young man moving between his rural village and the charged streets of Jerusalem, as Mandatory Palestine erupts in the largest and longest uprising against British colonial rule - a decisive moment for the British Empire and the future of the region.

Featuring an international ensemble cast including Hiam Abbass, Saleh Bakri, Kamel El Basha, Dhafer L’Abidine, Yasmine Al Massri, Billy Howle, Liam Cunningham, Robert Aramayo and Jeremy Irons, PALESTINE 36 is Jacir’s most ambitious feature to date.

A film built against the odds

PALESTINE 36 began pre-production in January 2023, restoring and rebuilding locations at scale, before repeated shutdowns and relocation forced the team to restart - ultimately returning to complete shooting in Palestine after thirteen months, and wrapping following multiple stop-start cycles.

From Jacir and Bawardi’s creative statements, the film’s making became inseparable from its meaning: a work carried through crisis, rooted in lived reality, and driven by a belief in cinema as cultural memory, urgency, and survival.

Press and coverage opportunities

We are actively arranging UK and international coverage around the shortlist announcement, including:

• Interviews with writer-director Annemarie Jacir.
• Producer interviews with Ossama Bawardi.
• Select talent availability (subject to schedule).
• Press screenings, Q&As and editorial opportunities tied to the film’s ongoing UK theatrical run.
• Full EPK assets available on request (stills, bios, notes, credits).