First Trailer for ‘Palestine 36’ Feat. Jeremy Irons & Liam Cunningham
by Alex Billington
October 15, 2025
Source: YouTube
“We are asking for your help in protecting our villages.” Screen International has revealed the first official trailer for an acclaimed new film titled Palestine 36, made by Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir as her fourth feature film so far. This recently premiered at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival last month, and it next plays at AFI Fest and the Denver Film Festival. It’s also Palestine’s submission to the Oscars this year. The film is set during the years 1936 – 1939 and follows a man navigating between Jerusalem and his rural home amid escalating unrest with the British Empire rulers at the time. This is just before the Holocaust and the British Mandate in 1947 & 1948 that would lead to the creation of the State of Israel after 1945. Back in 1936, as Palestinian villages revolt against British colonial rule, Yusuf navigates between Jerusalem and his rural home, amidst escalating unrest and a pivotal moment for the British Empire. The fascinating film stars Hiam Abbass, Saleh Bakri, Robert Aramayo, Billy Howle, Liam Cunningham, Yasmine Al-Massri, Dafer L’Abidine, Yumna Marwan, Karim Daoud Anaya, and Jeremy Irons. This looks like a riveting story digging into the past and shedding light on the truth on the great awfulness of imperialism.
Here’s the first official trailer for Annemarie Jacir’s film Palestine 36, direct from Screen’s YouTube:
Intro from TIFF: “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, migration of European Jews fleeing the Nazis, and British attempts to impose colonial rule. In the midst of this, Yusuf (Karim Daoud Anaya) shunts between his traditional village & the rapidly changing city. Afra (Wardi Eilabouni) tries to navigate change with the aid of her grandmother (Hiam Abbass). A dissatisfied port worker (Saleh Bakri) 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, also known as فلسطين ٣٦ in Arabic, is written and directed by the Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir, director of the films Salt of This Sea, When I Saw You, Wajib, and episodes of the series “Ramy” previously. It’s produced by Ossama Bawardi, Cat Villiers, Azzam Fakhreddin, Hani Farsi, Nils Åstrand, Olivier Barbier, Nathanaël Karmitz, Katrin Pors, Hamza Ali. This initially premiered at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival this fall. It will continue to play at more festivals – no US release date is set yet. Stay tuned for more. Intrigued?
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