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International support for Palestinian rights is increasing, even in Hollywood, where thousands of film workers have joined a pledge to avoid Israel’s film groups considered involved in the conflict in the Gaza Strip, and high-profile celebrities are supporting movies that focus on the Palestinian people’s experience.

Yet, Palestinian-produced movies still face challenges to obtain distribution and achieve visibility – despite a significant Academy Awards win recently. To showcase the Palestinian rich tradition of cinema, we invited leading Palestinian film-makers and entertainers to discuss their favorite Palestinian-made films.

‘It Brought Me to Tears’: Mo Amer Reflects on All That’s Left Of You

Cherien Dabis’s movie All That’s Left of You, which premiered recently at the Sundance Film Festival, is a rare film, unflinching and unforgettable. By telling the story of a single Palestinian family, from its roots in pre-1948 Jaffa through generations of exile, it does not just tell a tale – it honors a heritage.

The visuals are rich and immersive. Every shot feels intentional, every frame a memory – the orange groves of Jaffa, the roads of Nablus, the isolation of exile. The performances are powerful, highlighting Dabis’s remarkable range together with three generations of the Bakris – the group of actors most associated with Palestinian film. They are complex, subtle and heartbreakingly real.

The most striking aspect is how seamlessly the film moves between different eras without ever losing its narrative thread. Each decade of the Palestinian story is depicted with remarkable detail, both in imagery and in feeling. The direction is skillful in that way, guiding you through time with precision and care.

By the end, I was moved to tears. All That’s Left of You isn’t just about the past, it’s about the invisible ways it shapes who we are. It’s a film that stays with you – not because of spectacle, but because of truth.

• Mo Amer is a Palestinian American performer and comedian and the creator of a popular Netflix show.

‘The Most Wildly Original Palestinian Film Ever Made’: Cherien Dabis on Divine Intervention

A sunglasses-clad Palestinian female boldly walks through a checkpoint. Israeli soldiers watch, guns pointed, baffled. Her presence disarms them and brings the guard tower to collapse. It’s an iconic moment from director Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention that has remained in my mind ever since I first saw the movie. I was a second-year postgraduate cinema student at Columbia University when it opened in the US in the early 2000s. I recall being amazed by its power, its defiance, and its sheer boldness.

At a time when the majority of Palestinian film leaned toward the solemn or tragic, the director carved a new path. Through satire, deadpan acting, and almost silent observation, he captured the surreal ridiculousness of life under occupation. Portraying the film’s mute protagonist personally, he centered his own gaze at the heart of the narrative. That decision felt radical. His performance was composed and understated, which only magnified the stress all around him.

Divine Intervention is both intimately personal and politically charged. Its imagery is universal, yet grounded in the fractured reality of Palestinian identity. The filmmaker transforms separation, displacement and defiance into something approaching art. The outcome is touching, surreal, sometimes hilarious and always painfully honest.

There existed nothing remotely like it in Palestinian film at the period. There still isn’t. It remains, for me, the most innovative and imaginative Palestinian movie ever created.

• Cherien Dabis is a Palestinian-American director, writer, film producer and actress, whose latest film is an official submission for the Oscars.

‘Palestine Has Gained a Talent’: Hany Abu Assad on To a Land Unknown

For me, a great film needs to do two aspects. It needs to provide an experience that’s new, feeling and smart. It needs to offer me something I’ve been missing – a perspective that contradicts my belief system, a method to think about topics beyond my own life, a window to a distinct era and place. In short, I need to feel enriched, in spirit and intellectually.

Additionally, it needs to impress me with its skill. A talent that is not focused trying to impress but is used to open my eyes to something deeper.

The movie To a Land Unknown, which was launched recently, is precisely this type of film. Created by Mahdi Fleifel, it is a tale about two Palestinian friends looking for better lives as displaced persons in the country of Greece.

To a Land Unknown made me feel what it’s like to be a vulnerable migrant, in a foreign country, where everything acts in opposition to your attempts to leave the ghetto. It demonstrated me that in certain situations, although circumstances outside your control conspire to hinder you, you yourself can still turn into your own biggest obstacle. And its interplay between content and cinematic style astonished me in its craft.

In To a Land Unknown, the Palestinian cause has gained a talent that will support its cause without shedding a one drop of blood.

• Hany Abu-Assad is a Palestinian Dutch director, screenwriter and twice Oscar contender for his celebrated works.

‘Even Livestock Are Seen as a Danger’: Basel Adra on The Wanted 18

Among my favorite Palestinian films is The Wanted 18. It recounts the story of Palestinian people in Beit Sahour, a village near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, during the initial uprising of the 1980s. It records their effort to {