films-on-palestine-on-sweeping-spree

The “Voice of Hind Rajab” did not just premiere at the Venice Film Festival this month; it redefined lengthy ovation when it received a record-breaking 23-minute-long applause from the audience.

 

The audience that had been rendered visibly moved by the docu-drama reconstructing the death of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab. Trapped in her car for hours after her vehicle came under fire from Israeli forces, the film recreates the final hours of the terrified five-year-old child as she manages to phone for help in Gaza before her death. The film also went onto win the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize.

 

But critical acclaim, film festival applause and lengthy ovations are not the victories snagged by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s film. The “Voice of Hind Rajab” became symbolic of a powerful cultural movement and a political statement in the face of the ongoing genocide and the tipping point for films on Palestine.

 

Palestinian director Annamarie Jacir’s latest film “Palestine 36” has been officially submitted to the 2026 Academy Awards. This month, not only did the film held its sold-out world premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, but received a ten-minute-long standing ovation from a rapturous audience chanting slogans of “Free Palestine”. Digging into the history of Palestine, the historical drama is set during the period of 1936 and depicts Palestinian uprising against British colonial rule through an ensemble of resilient characters.

An absolute hit at the Sundance Film Festival this year, “All That’s Left of You”, by Palestinian American film-maker Cherien Dabis, is a heart-wrenching portrayal of the trauma endured by generations after a Palestinian teen confronts Israeli soldiers at a West Bank protest. The Palestinian drama is Jordan’s official entry to Oscar for 2026 Best International Feature Film category. Earlier this year, “No Other Land” not just bagged the Best Documentary at the 2025 Academy Awards, but played to sold-out theatres and grossed close to $2.5 million domestically.

 

All of the acclaim is in stark contrast to how unwelcomed Palestinian narratives were in the immediate months following the October 7 attacks. The film fraternity, apart from several blogs and media accounts dedicated to cinema, now speak about how Palestine has been denied the right to context, how historically nothing really started on October 7. 

 

The documentary “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” being a case in point; the film follows 25-year-old Gaza photojournalist Fatma Hassona and depicts the struggle of a woman under siege by constant bombing. The sobering circumstances rendered the documentary exceptionally heart-rending at the Cannes Film Festival this year. 

 

On April 16, which is exactly a day after the movie’s Cannes Film Festival selection was announced, the film’s protagonist Fatma Hassona and several members of her family were killed by a missile that hit their home. Metaphorically, turning the film’s screening to an audio-visual epitaph of a promising life cut too short by war and politics.

 

Also read: Bollywood: Still shy of handling the trauma of Partition

 

After her big win at the Venice Film Festival this year, Indian film maker Anuparna Roy partly gave a peep into the popularity of Palestinian films. “Every child deserves peace, freedom, liberation and Palestine is no exception. It’s a responsibility to stand beside it.”

 

Stories coming out of Palestine carry the weight of an entire populace; people who have been oppressed, suffered at the hands of war, violence and been denied the right to context. 

Political repercussions

 

The critical acclaim and box-office applause did not come without its share of battles and opposition. When “No Other Land” won the Oscar for best documentary this year, the victory was bittersweet on many counts. The film, which follows and depicts the displacement of Palestinian families in the West Bank, mounted countless obstacles before finally being screened.

 

Apart from the customary threats against its release and calls for boycott from Israeli lobbies; in Miami, the city’s mayor condemned the film and termed it as a “propaganda” threatening to strip funding to any cinema house that screened it. Despite the global acclaim and awards, the film struggled to secure a distributor in the US, forcing the makers to eventually release the film themselves amidst mounting political pressure.

 

But less than a year later, the circumstances appear very different with the tables having turned on Israel. Changed geopolitical equations, rising support for Palestine and a string of Hollywood heavyweights who have spoken against Israel’s war crimes have contributed to there being noise and support for Palestinian films and filmmakers.

 

Film blogs on social media are replete with lists on “Must Watch Palestinian Films” which have been reviewed as “topical, informative and powerful.”

 The US rights of “Palestine 36” are already secured by Watermelon Pictures as are the rights to Cherien Dabis’ “All That’s Left of You”.

 

Not only do the distributors now see a strong commercial opportunity in these projects but are emotionally involved in the cause too. Social media and journalists bringing on-ground stories of the people and their struggle have been crucial in shifting the narratives.

 

Lengthy ovations are nothing new at film festivals but “The Voice of Hind Rajab” has not just eclipsed previous record of 22-minute-long ovation held by “Pan’s Labyrinth” in 2006 at Cannes Film Festival, but has also assumed a life of its own.

 

The rise of Palestinian films is yet another example of the power of cinema—good or bad but undebatably stirring and the fact that films, if portrayed objectively and sensitively, have often proven to go beyond far beyond entertainment and information.

 

By Manpriya Singh