Every Mena film nominated for an Oscar

From Z in 1970 to Four Daughters, regional titles frequently vie for glory on cinema's biggest night

Jordanian movie Theeb was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars in 2016. Photo: MAD Solutions

In 1970, Z became the first Arab film to win an Oscar.

The French-Algerian production was submitted by Algeria and was nominated for four awards and won two. It was the first Arab film to win Best Foreign Film.

It opened the door to others from the region to battle it out on cinema's biggest night of the year.

These are the 24 that have been ­nominated over the years.

Four Daughters (Tunisia, 2024)

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film

Kaouther Ben Hania's film Four Daughters is in the running for an Oscar this year. Photo: Tanit Films

Kaouther Ben Hania made history by becoming the first Arab female director to be nominated for two Academy Awards. Four Daughters tells the story of a mother named Olfa (Hend Sabry) who discovers that two of her daughters have joined ISIS. The film is an international co-production between France, Tunisia, Germany and Saudi Arabia.

The Present (Palestine, 2021)

Nominated for Best Live Action Short

The short is British-Palestinian Farah Nabulsi's directorial debut. The Present tells the story of Yousef, played by Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, who decides to buy a gift for his wife on their anniversary. The task is almost impossible because of the challenges of life under occupation. It lost to Two Distant Strangers by Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe.

The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia, 2021)

Nominated for Best International Feature Film

Tunisia's entry for the 2021 Oscars, The Man Who Sold His Skin, was directed by Kaouther Ben Hania. The film stars Yahya Mahayni as a Syrian refugee in Lebanon, who agrees to have his back tattooed by a famous artist in the hopes of joining his partner in Paris. The story was inspired by real events. It lost to Denmark's Another Round.

For Sama (Syria, 2020)

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature

Director Waad Al-Kateab filmed footage for five years. Photo: Waad Al-Kateab.

Heartbreaking and gripping, For Sama is a Syrian documentary filmed over five years from inside besieged Aleppo that gives a first-hand account of war from the perspective of a new mother. It won the Best Documentary Bafta and was the most nominated documentary in that year's history.

The Cave (Syria, 2020)

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature

Directed by Feras Fayyad, The Cave follows the story of Dr Amani Ballour, a paediatrician who stayed in Eastern Ghouta to aid people in a makeshift underground hospital. In 2018, Fayyad also received a Best Documentary Feature nomination for his film, Last Men in Aleppo.

Brotherhood (Tunisia, 2020)

Nominated for Best Live Action - Short

Meryam Joobeur's Brotherhood explores the tensions within a family, which arise after the patriarch becomes suspicious of his eldest son, Malik, who returns home after a long journey with a mysterious new Syrian wife. This was Tunisia's first Oscar nomination.

Capernaum (Lebanon, 2019)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

From left, Treasure Bankole as Yonas and Zain Al Rafeea as Zain in Capernaum. Photo: Fares Sokhon / Sony Pictures Classics

Nadine Labaki made headlines last year with this docu-drama feature film, which tells the story of a 12-year-old boy living in the slums of Beirut, who sues his parents for bringing him into this world. Labaki’s film was also nominated for a Golden Globe in 2018 and won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in the same year.

Of Fathers and Sons (Syria, 2019)

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature

Directed by Syrian-Kurdish filmmaker Talal Derki, this story details how hatred and fundamentalism is transmitted from one generation to the next. The documentary focuses on Abu Osama, a father who is preparing his two sons to join Al Nusra Front in Syria. The director lived among the fighters, who thought he was one of them, for more than two years.

Last Men in Aleppo (Syria, 2018)

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature

Directed by Feras Fayyad, Last Men in Aleppo is a film about the White Helmets volunteer organisation, also known as the Syria Civil Defence. The story hones in on three of the volunteers and the horror of what they encounter on their search and rescue operations. The film lost the Oscar to Icarus, directed by Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan.

The Insult (Lebanon, 2017)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

Adel Karam in The Insult. Photo: Venice International Film Festival

Directed by Ziad Doueiri, The Insult looks at the relationships between Lebanese-Christians and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. It is the first film from the country to be nominated in this category, but it lost to Iran's Oscars entry – Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman.

The White Helmets (Syria, 2017)

Nominated for Best Documentary Short

This Netflix-supported film tells the story of the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue organisation that works across Syria. Coming out at a time when the world’s focus was firmly on the conflict in Syria, the feature sheds light on the work of this group, and what they had to go through. The film, which won the Oscar, was directed by Orlando Von Einsiedel.

Ave Maria (Palestine, 2016)

Nominated for Best Live Action Short

Directed by Basil Khalil, this independent comedy short set in Palestine follows a group of Israeli settlers who find themselves needing to rely on a group of Palestinian nuns for rescue. While the film was an Oscar favourite, it lost to Irish film Stutterer.

Theeb (Jordan, 2016)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

Production on Theeb was partially funded by Abu Dhabi's Sanad Fund. The feature tells the story of a young Bedouin boy who ventures with his brother and a British soldier into the desert. Theeb was likened to David Lean's desert epic Lawrence of Arabia, for portraying the beautiful landscapes in a similar vein to the 1962 classic. Theeb lost the Oscar to Hungary's Son of Saul.

Timbuktu (Mauritania, 2015)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

Timbuktu by Abderrahmane Sissako. Photo: Les Films du Worso / Dune Vision

Made by veteran African filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, Timbuktu is about a cattle herder and his family, whose lives are disrupted by the arrival of jihadists. Shot beautifully by Sofian El Fani (the cinematographer who worked on Abdellatif Kechiche's Blue is the Warmest Colour), the movie was also a triumph in acting talent. Nonetheless, Timbuktu lost the coveted prize to Poland's Ida.

Omar (Palestine, 2014)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

Hany Abu-Assad's second nomination, Omar, tells the story of a young Palestinian freedom fighter who is forced to work as an informant. At its heart, the film is a love story in the midst of chaos. Omar spearheaded a three-year streak of Arab nominations in the Foreign Language category, although it lost to Italy's The Great Beauty.

The Square (Egypt, 2014)

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature

Directed by Jehane Noujaim, The Square is about the Egyptian uprisings from 2011 to 2013, centred on Tahrir Square. The documentary is often praised for its intimate approach to chronicling the protests, hearing from and seeing the protesters themselves. The Square lost to 20 Feet from Stardom by Morgan Neville, Caitrin Rogers and Gil Friesen.

Karama Has No Walls (Yemen, 2014)

Nominated for Best Documentary Short

Karama Has No Walls has the distinct honour of being the only film from Yemen to be nominated for an Academy Award. Directed by Scottish-Yemeni filmmaker Sara Ishaq, the documentary short shows focuses on the start of the 2011 Yemeni Revolution. It lost the Oscar to The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life.

5 Broken Cameras (Palestine, 2013)

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature

Co-directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, 5 Broken Cameras focuses on the destruction of Burnat's cameras, starting with his first in 2005. It won the World Cinema Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012 and the International Emmy Award in 2013. It lost the Oscar to Malik Bendjelloul's Searching for Sugar Man.

Outside the Law (Algeria, 2011)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

Rachid Bouchareb scored a hat-trick with his third nomination in the category. Outside the Law tells the story of the Algerian resistance that fought against the French for independence after the Second World War. Jamel Debbouze and Roschdy Zem starred as members of the resistance. The film was an early favourite, but Danish film In a Better World took the Oscar.

Days of Glory (Algeria, 2007)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

From left, Sami Bouajila, Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, and Roschdy Zem in Indigenes aka Days of Glory. Courtesy Tessalit Films

For the first time in Oscars history, an Arab film was nominated for the second consecutive year in 2007. Bouchareb received his second Best Foreign Film nod with Days of Glory. Set during the Second World War, it tells the story of a band of Algerian soldiers who fought for France against Nazi Germany. It coincidentally lost the Oscar to Germany's The Lives of Others by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Paradise Now (Palestine, 2006)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

Paradise Now is a story of two childhood friends who are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and is directed by Hany Abu-Assad. It was the first film to be submitted under The Palestinian Territories at the time. It was praised for its raw emotion and highlighting the plight of Palestinians. It lost to South Africa's Tsotsi.

Dust of Life (Algeria, 1996)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

The third Algerian movie to pick up a Best Foreign Film nomination was the first directed by an Arab filmmaker. Dust of Life explores the subject of re-education camps in Vietnam after the withdrawal of US forces. Through Arab eyes, director Rachid Bouchareb tries to convey the Vietnamese struggle after being ravaged by war. It lost to Antonia's Line from the Netherlands.

Le Bal (Algeria, 1984)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

This was another joint Algerian and European production, and was produced with help from France and Italy. Le Bal is a dance film without dialogue, made in 1983, by Italian director Ettore Scola. The feature is a visual feast; chronicling 50 years of French socio-cultural history, by following the comings and goings in a French ballroom. The film lost to Sweden's entry Fanny and Alexander by Ingmar Bergman.

Z (Algeria, 1970)

Nominated for Best Foreign Film

At the 42nd Academy Awards, Z became the first movie nominated for both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture. The plot focuses on the assassination of a Greek politician – with a fictionalised and satirical eye. Its editor, Francoise Bonnot, also won an Oscar for Best Editing. Algeria is still the Arab country with the most nominations to date.