Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36 has landed six nominations for the 10th Critics Awards for Arab Films, which is set to take place during the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
The period epic received the most nominations for the annual awards, organised by the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) and voted upon by 307 Arab and international film critics.
Scroll down for full list of nominations
Further titles to earn multiple nods include Maryam Touzani’s Calle Malaga with five, Cherien Dabis’ All That’s Left Of You with four, and Yunan, My Father’s Scent, and Once Upon A Time In Gaza with three apiece.
Features with two nominations are Promised Sky, The Voice Of Hind Rajab, A Sad And Beautiful World, The President’s Cake, The Settlement, Hijra, and Aisha Can’t Fly Away.
Launched on the margins of the 70th Cannes Film Festival in 2017, the awards honour the best Arab productions of the previous year. This year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony on May 16 at the Plage des Palmes.
Palestine 36 takes place during Palestine’s British rule of 1936 and revolves around a real-life uprising by Palestinian Arabs. It premiered at Toronto, won the grand prize at Tokyo and was Palestine’s entry to the Oscars. Jacir’s Wajib won best film at the second edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films in 2018.
Calle Malaga debuted at Venice and stars famed Spanish actress Carmen Maura as a 79-year-old, whose quiet life in Tangier is disrupted when her daughter tries to sell her home against her will. Touzani’s The Blue Caftan led the nominations in 2023 and won three prizes.
All That’s Left Of You, from Palestine US filmmaker Dabis, premiered at Sundance and was Jordan’s entry to the Oscars. Spanning several decades, it is the story of a displaced Palestinian family and begins in the Occupied West Bank with a teenager who gets swept into a protest that changes the course of his family’s life.
Critics Awards for Arab Films 2026 nominations
Best Feature Film
- Once Upon A Time In Gaza | Tarzan And Arab Nasser | Palestine
- Palestine 36 | Annemarie Jacir | Palestine
- All That’s Left Of You | Cherien Dabis | Palestine
- Calle Málaga | Maryam Touzani | Morocco
- Cotton Queen | Suzannah Mirghani | Sudan
Best Screenplay
- Amer Nasser And Marie Legrand| Once Upon A Time In Gaza
- Cherien Dabis | All That’s Left Of You
- Annemarie Jacir | Palestine 36
- Maryam Touzani And Nabil Ayouch | Calle Málaga
- Ahmed Amer And Mohamed Siam | My Father’s Scent
Best Director
- Maryam Touzani | Calle Málaga
- Cherien Dabis | All That’s Left Of You
- Tarzan And Arab Nasser | Once Upon A Time In Gaza
- Annemarie Jacir | Palestine 36
- Kaouther Ben Hania | The Voice Of Hind Rajab
Best Actress
- Deborah Christelle Naney | Promised Sky
- Mounia Akl | A Sad And Beautiful World
- Yasmine Al Massri | Palestine 36
- Carmen Maura | Calle Málaga
- Baneen Ahmad Nayyef | The President’s Cake
Best Actor
- Adham Shukr | The Settlement
- Nawwaf Aldaferi | Hijra
- Dhafer L’abidine | Palestine 36
- Georges Khabbaz | Yunan
- Ahmed Malek | My Father’s Scent
Best Music
- Armand Amar | Hijra
- Suad Bushnaq | Yunan
- Amine Bouhafa | Aisha Can’t Fly Away
- Omar El-Deeb | The President’s Cake
- Freya Arde | Calle Málaga
Best Editing
- Ameer Fakher Eldin | Yunan
- Ahmed Hafez | My Father’s Scent
- Qutaiba Barhamji, Maxime Mathis, And Kaouther Ben Hania | The Voice Of Hind Rajab
- Heba Othman | The Settlement
- Zeina Aboul Hosn | Dead Dog
Best Cinematography
- Hélène Louvart | Palestine 36
- Mostafa El Kashef | Aisha Can’t Fly Away
- Joe Saade | A Sad And Beautiful World
- Christopher Aoun | All That’s Left Of You
- Frida Marzouk | Promised Sky
Best Documentary
- The Lions By The River Tigris | Zaradasht Ahmed | Iraq
- Khartoum | Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, And Phil Cox | Sudan
- 50 Meters | Yomna Khattab | Egypt
- Life After Siham | Namir Abdel Messeeh | Egypt
- Do You Love Me | Lana Daher | Lebanon
Best Short Film
- L’Mina | Randa Maroufi | Morocco
- It’s So Beautiful Here | Basma Alsharif And Kamal Aljafari | Palestine
- Control Anatomy | Mahmoud Al Haj | Palestine
- I’m Glad You’re Dead Now | Tawfeek Barhom | Palestine
- Sous Les Ruines | Nadhir Bouslama | Tunisia
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