Palestine 36

For her latest project, Annemarie Jacir faced a towering challenge. She had a bigger budget and the chance to work on a far larger scale than her earlier features. A period film funded across continents but shot entirely in the region, it came with inherent technical and logistical hurdles. And the subject? The Palestinian people, at a critical turning point in their history.

Palestine 36 is the remarkable result. Jacir’s film enlists both talented newcomers and stars such as Jeremy Irons and Hiam Abbass to tell a story of individual actions against the turbulent history of 1936 during the British Mandate for Palestine. Rare archival footage sets the stage, providing a potent counterpoint to the dramatic action: Jerusalem’s bustling mix of peoples in the wake of the Ottoman Empire’s dissolution, the migration of European Jews fleeing the Nazis, and British attempts to impose colonial rule.

In the middle of this, Yusuf shunts between his traditional village and the rapidly changing city. Young Afra tries to navigate change all around her with the aid of her grandmother. A dissatisfied port worker finds the pressures of earning a living and supporting his family drawing him into a rebel movement. Can British officialdom, represented powerfully by Irons, even keep up?

Palestine 36 was selected as the Palestinian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. (source: www.tiff.net)