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Global backing for Palestinian rights is increasing, including Hollywood, where numerous of film workers have signed a pledge to avoid Israeli film groups considered involved in the war in the Gaza Strip, and well-known stars are supporting movies that focus on the Palestinian people’s lived reality.

However, Palestinian-produced movies still struggle to obtain release and gain visibility – even after a major Oscars victory last year. To showcase the Palestinian vibrant tradition of cinema, we invited prominent Palestinian film-makers and entertainers to share their favorite Palestinian films.

‘By the End, I Was Moved to Tears’: Mo Amer on All That’s Left Of You

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

The visuals are vivid and immersive. Every shot feels purposeful, each image a memory – the orange groves of Jaffa, the roads of Nablus, the isolation of displacement. The performances are powerful, highlighting the director’s extraordinary range alongside multiple generations of the Bakris – the family of actors most synonymous with Palestinian film. They are complex, restrained and deeply authentic.

What’s most impressive is how smoothly the film shifts between time periods without ever losing its emotional throughline. Every period of the Palestinian history is brought to life with stunning detail, both in imagery and emotionally. The filmmaking is masterful in that regard, guiding you through years with clarity and sensitivity.

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

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

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

A sunglasses-clad Palestinian female defiantly struts through a security post. Israeli troops watch, weapons pointed, confused. Her presence disarms them and causes the guard tower crashing down. It’s an memorable moment from Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention that has remained in my mind ever since I first saw the movie. I was a second-year graduate film student at Columbia University when it premiered in the United States in the early 2000s. I remember being amazed by its impact, its defiance, and its sheer audacity.

At a time when the majority of Palestinian film leaned toward the solemn or tragic, the director carved a fresh direction. Through satire, deadpan performance, and almost silent observation, he portrayed the surreal absurdity of life under occupation. Portraying the movie’s silent protagonist himself, he placed his own perspective at the heart of the narrative. That decision felt revolutionary. His presence was calm and understated, which only magnified the stress all around him.

Divine Intervention is both intimately personal and highly political. Its imagery is global, yet rooted in the fractured reality of Palestinian self. The filmmaker transforms separation, displacement and resistance into something approaching poetry. The outcome is touching, dreamlike, sometimes funny and consistently deeply truthful.

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

• Cherien Dabis is a Palestinian American director, screenwriter, film producer and actress, whose most recent film is an official submission for the Oscars.

‘A Remarkable New Voice’: Hany Abu Assad on To a Land Unknown

For me, a outstanding film needs to do two aspects. It needs to provide an journey that’s new, feeling and intelligent. It needs to give me something I’ve been lacking – a point of view that challenges my views, a method to think about issues outside my own world, a view to a different era and place. Simply put, I need to feel enlightened, emotionally and intellectually.

Additionally, it needs to impress me with its skill. A ability that is not focused seeking approval but is used to reveal to an idea deeper.

The film To a Land Unknown, which was released last year, is exactly this kind of film. Created by Mahdi Fleifel, it is a story about two Palestinian companions searching for better lives as refugees in the country of Greece.

To a Land Unknown made me feel what it’s like to be a vulnerable refugee, in a strange country, where all factors acts in opposition to your attempts to escape the ghetto. It demonstrated me that in certain situations, even when circumstances beyond your influence work to hinder you, you personally can still turn into your own biggest obstacle. And its dance between content and cinematic style floored me in its artistry.

In To a Land Unknown, the Palestinian cause has found a gifted artist that will support its mission without spilling a one ounce of violence.

• Hany Abu-Assad is a Palestinian-Dutch director, writer and twice Oscar contender for his acclaimed films.

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

One of my most loved Palestinian movies is The Wanted 18. It tells the story of Palestinian people in Beit Sahour, a town near Bethlehem in the West Bank, during the first intifada of the 1980s. It documents their effort to {