Israel banned Palestine 36, then it landed on an Oscars shortlist

Annemarie Jacir refused to replace Jerusalem with another old city for a scene showing a little girl running along the city's walls. After the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack halted production of Palestine 36, producers suggested filming in Cyprus, Greece or Malta. Jacir resisted.

"I kept saying, 'I'm not going to film anywhere except Jerusalem. It really means something to us. It might look like another old city to you, but to us, it's not another old city.'" The scene survived, even as the political situation forced the production to make other compromises.

Jacir relocated to Jordan to shoot additional material and returned to Palestine a year later to complete the film. Palestine 36 is the only feature film shot in the country in the past two years, and one of only a few films to bring 1930s Palestine to the screen.

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I kept saying, 'I'm not going to film anywhere except Jerusalem. It really means something to us. It might look like another old city to you, but to us, it's not another old city.'

The historical epic covers the 1936-39 revolt, when Palestinian Arabs fought for independence from British colonial rule. The period included the displacement of local residents and the arrival of European settlers fleeing the horrors of World War II. Tens of thousands of people were killed or wounded.

Jacir argues that the period remains essential to understanding later events. "It's surprising how few people know about it. It's so critical to understand and talk about this period if we are to talk about anything else that comes afterwards, the Nakba and (the war in) 1948," she told ABC Arts. The film combines several stories, including those of a young Arab drawn into armed rebellion and farmers from a local village.

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It's surprising how few people know about it. It's so critical to understand and talk about this period if we are to talk about anything else that comes afterwards, the Nakba and (the war in) 1948.