Annemarie Jacir’s ‘Palestine 36’ Joins Netflix in MENA Region

Annemarie Jacir’s Oscar-shortlisted drama Palestine 36 has secured a licensing agreement with Netflix MENA, making the film accessible to viewers across the Middle East and North Africa starting today.

Set against the backdrop of the 1936-1939 revolt, the film depicts the Palestinian resistance to British colonial rule, offering a significant historical perspective that has rarely been portrayed on screen.

Palestine 36 features a diverse international cast, including Palestinian actors Yasmine Al Massri, Karim Daoud Anaya, Hiam Abbass, Saleh Bakri, and Zaid Ghaza, alongside renowned actors Jeremy Irons, Liam Cunningham, and BAFTA Rising Star and Best Actor winner Robert Aramayo.

"Bringing films to a wide audience is important to us. Netflix Middle East has showcased most of our works and was also the first mainstream platform to stream a large number of Palestinian films,” said Ossama Bawardi, who produced the film under his Philistine Films banner alongside Jacir.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and subsequently toured numerous festivals, securing the Tokyo Grand Prix. Palestine 36 has also been shortlisted for the Academy Awards as the Palestinian submission for Best International Feature Film. Recently, it garnered the most nominations in the Critics Awards for Arab Films, with winners to be announced on May 16 during the Cannes Film Festival.

As the streaming launch begins in MENA, Palestine 36 continues its theatrical run worldwide, including in the U.S. and Canada, where Watermelon Pictures premiered the film on March 20. In Europe, it is currently screening in Switzerland and Belgium, following releases in the U.K., France, and Portugal. It is set to open in Germany and Austria on May 14.