Palestinian Cinema Surges at Cannes 2026

The 79th Cannes Film Festival has become a platform for Palestinian cinema, with films like 'Palestine 36', 'No Other Land', 'Once Upon a Time in Gaza', and 'Ce qu'il reste de nous' gaining international attention. Salma Abu Ayyash, co-director of the Palestine Film Institute, describes a 'renewal' of Palestinian cinema, citing Edward Said's observation that Palestinians have long been prevented from telling their own stories. She notes that filmmakers are forced to find deeper ways to narrate their experiences due to the constant real-time violence on social media, creating both urgency and creative rupture. The festival features a Palestinian pavilion, a source of pride but also heartbreak for some. Mohammed Alshareef, a Palestinian director living in Gaza, has his film 'Super Sila'—about an imaginary world he created to shield his 4-year-old daughter from war horrors—presented at the festival's film market. However, Alshareef was denied permission to leave Gaza despite invitations from Cannes and the Collège de France's 'Pause' program. He reports being shot at by the Israeli army during filming and has appealed for evacuation with his family. The article highlights that Palestinian filmmakers experience the same torments as those they film.