The only feature film shot in Palestine in the last two years; PALESTINE 36 tells the personal stories behind the 1936-1939 Arab revolt against British colonial rule – the longest anti-colonial uprising in the history of the British Empire. Writer-director Annemarie Jacir (Wajib, When I Saw You) made the film against incredible odds, after production was forced to shut down and temporarily relocate to Jordan due to the conflict in Palestine. It is Jacir’s most ambitious film to date.
An intimate yet sweeping historical drama, PALESTINE 36 was the country’s official submission for the 98th Academy Awards and was included in the Academy shortlist for Best International Feature.
PALESTINE 36 features a cast of esteemed British and Palestinian actors including Jeremy Irons, Hiam Abbass, Kamel El Basha, Yasmine Al Massri, Robert Aramayo, Billy Howle and Karim Daoud Anaya in his screen debut as Yusuf.
Following sold-out screenings at Sydney Film Festival, PALESTINE 36 will come to Australian cinemas on August 27.
Synopsis: In 1936, as villages across Mandatory Palestine rise against British colonial rule, Yusuf moves between his rural home and the restless energy of Jerusalem, caught between the world he knows and a future being fought for. As the revolt spreads and the British Empire tightens its grip, an ensemble of ordinary people — farmers, dreamers, dockworkers and families — are drawn into a defining moment that will shape the region for generations.
Written and directed by Annemarie Jacir (Wajib, When I Saw You) and shot on location in Palestine against extraordinary odds, Palestine 36 is an intimate yet sweeping historical drama: a portrait of a people’s struggle for freedom, and of the personal choices made in the shadow of empire. Palestine’s official submission for the 98th Academy Awards.
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