Reel Palestine will return to Cinema Akil from January 23 to February 1, with Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir headlining the programme with an in-person masterclass and a series of post-screening discussions.
Jacir will present her latest feature, Palestine 36, which revisits British Mandate Palestine in 1936 through the story of a young man caught between village life and Jerusalem as political unrest escalates.
The programme will also include a special screening of Wajib, in tribute to Palestinian actor and filmmaker Mohammad Bakri, who died in December.
The festival opens with the UAE premiere of Once Upon a Time in Gaza by brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser, with actor Majd Eid attending a post-screening Q&A. Set in Gaza in 2007, the film follows two friends navigating loyalty, crime and survival under siege, and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Reel Palestine will present 11 feature films and documentaries alongside five short films, spanning fiction, non-fiction and experimental work. Academy Award-shortlisted titles include Jacir’s Palestine 36 and All That’s Left of You by Cherien Dabis, which unfolds in the moments before a confrontation at a West Bank protest, tracing intergenerational trauma rooted in displacement since 1948.
The documentary programme includes Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk by Sepideh Farsi, constructed through video calls with Gaza-based photojournalist Fatma Hassouna; The Clown of Gaza by Abdulrahman Sabbah; One More Show by Mai Saad and Ahmed Al Danaf; Palestine Comedy Club by Alaa Aliabdallah and Who Is Still Alive by Nicolas Wadimoff.
Two short film programmes will screen during the festival, featuring Luay Awad’s Born A Celebrity, Waseem Khair’s Gaza Bride 17, Andrés and Francisca Khamis Giacoman’s Baisanos, and Tawfeek Barhom’s I’m Glad You’re Dead Now.
Beyond the screenings, Reel Palestine will host two weekends of its souq at Alserkal Avenue, bringing together Palestinian designers, artisans and social enterprises, alongside workshops and filmmaker Q&A sessions.
The festival runs from January 23 to February 1. Full schedules and tickets are available via cinemaakil.com
