Annermarie Jacir’s timely historical feature “Palestine 36” — Palestine’s official submission to the 2026 Oscars — has been acquired for North America.
Watermelon Pictures has acquired distribution rights to the film, set to have it world premiere in Toronto, where it will become the first Arab film to feature in the festival’s gala section.
Starring Saleh Bakri (“Blue Caftan”), Hiam Abbass (“Succession”), Oscar winner Jeremy Irons and Liam Cunningham (“Game of Thrones”), the film reconstructs the Palestinian revolt against British colonial rule in 1936.
The story follows a young man who gets caught up in political upheaval as tensions rise in Jerusalem and his village amid British crackdowns prompted by the arrival of Jewish immigrants escaping antisemitism in Europe. “History is relentless,” reads the synopsis, which adds that “all sides spiral towards inevitable collision in a decisive moment for the British Empire and the future of the entire region.”
Watermelon’s co-founder Hamza Ali negotiated the sale with Philistine Film’s Ossama Bawardi. International sales for the film are being co-handled by Olivier Barbier, founder and head of acquisitions at the Paris-based sales company Lucky Number, and by Mk2 Films.
“We’re honored to present ‘Palestine 36,’ an historic gift of a film with an incredible, star-studded cast,” said Ali. “Annemarie Jacir has created a sweeping epic masterpiece that helps us better understand our past and the role it played in how we arrived at the moment we’re in today.”
Added Bawardi: “Filming a story about war while living through one was an extraordinary challenge, but against all odds, we’ve crafted a cinematic work that we believe will deeply capture audiences around the world. With Watermelon Pictures’ deep experience and commitment to powerful storytelling, we couldn’t ask for better partners to bring this film to North American audiences.”
“Palestine 36” marks writer/director Annemarie Jacir’s fourth film chosen to represent Palestine in the Oscars international feature competition following “Wajib,” “When I Saw You” and “Salt of This Sea.”
The film was produced by Oscar-nominated producer Bawardi for Philistine Films (“The Stranger’s Case”) in Palestine and co-produced by Cat Villiers for Autonomous (“The Proposition”) and Hani Farsi and Nils Åstrand for Corniche Media (“The Time That Remains”) in the U.K. and Barbier for Mk Productions (“The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value”) in France. Production partners include BFI, BBC Film, Katara Studios, Doha Film Institute, Watermelon Pictures, Roya TV. “Palestine 26” was lensed by cinematographer Hèléne Louvart and scored by Ben Frost.
