Palestine 36, the critically acclaimed historical epic from Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, has secured a streaming deal with Netflix MENA, bringing the film to audiences across the Middle East and North Africa for the first time as of May 1. The agreement marks a significant expansion for a film that has spent the past eight months collecting awards and generating fierce political controversy in equal measure.
The film centers on the 1936–1939 Palestinian revolt against British colonial rule — a chapter of Middle East history that had never before received this kind of treatment on the big screen. Its cast mixes Palestinian talent with international names: Yasmine Al Massri, Hiam Abbass, Saleh Bakri and Zaid Ghaza appear alongside Jeremy Irons and Liam Cunningham. Producer Ossama Bawardi, who runs Philistine Films with Jacir, framed the Netflix deal in terms of access. “Netflix Middle East has shown most of our works and was also the first mainstream platform to stream a large number of Palestinian films,” he said.
The road to this streaming deal was anything but smooth. Production was originally set to begin in Palestine on October 14, 2023 — one week before the Hamas attacks triggered a war in Gaza — forcing Jacir to halt shooting and relocate temporarily to Jordan. The crew eventually returned to finish on location, making it, by one account, the only feature film to shoot inside Palestine over the past two years. At the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, the film received a 20-minute standing ovation at its world premiere. It then won the Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival and the Audience Award in São Paulo.
Israeli police raided a screening in East Jerusalem in January, alleging the projectionist was showing material linked to a terrorist organization. The production company denied the claim, and Jacir has appealed the ban. Russia and critics from the right have also challenged the film’s framing, with some arguing it renders Jewish presence in Mandatory Palestine largely invisible.
The film holds a near-perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 27 reviews and leads the nominations at the Critics Awards for Arab Films, whose winners will be announced May 16 at Cannes. Theatrically, it continues to roll out across Europe, with Germany and Austria openings scheduled for May 14, and remains in cinemas across the U.S. and Canada via Watermelon Pictures.
This is the 18th Palestinian Oscar submission and Jacir’s fourth, making her the country’s most prolific contributor to the international feature race.
