Palestinian filmmakers can no longer wait for permission to tell their stories. Despite the ongoing destruction in Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian cinema has found its way onto the 2025 Oscars shortlist. In what has been called a human and cinematic miracle three Palestinian films were shortlisted for the Academy Awards this years including one nomination.
Leading the nominations is the Israeli-Palestinian collaboration No Other Land, nominated for Best Documentary Feature. The film follows Palestinian journalist Basel Adra as he documents the violent erasure of his West Bank village by Israeli settlers. This isn’t just another war documentary—it’s a first-hand account of displacement happening in real-time, in a land where history repeats itself with brutal precision.
Then there’s From Ground Zero, an anthology film directed by Rashid Masharawi that hands the camera to Gazans themselves. With a mix of animation, fiction, and documentary, it stitches together 22 short films—one for approximately every 2,100 people killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. It’s raw, devastating, and deeply human. While it didn’t secure a final nomination, the film has already drawn international attention, with Michael Moore signing on as an executive producer. The project, as described by Watermelon Pictures, stands as “a remarkable reflection of how art can thrive even in the darkest times.”
The third shortlisted film, An Orange from Jaffa, is a quiet but powerful piece about a young Palestinian struggling to find a taxi to cross an Israeli checkpoint. The mundane frustration of a simple journey turned impossible underscores the suffocating nature of occupation, where something as ordinary as movement is a privilege Palestinians are denied.
The filmmakers of Palestine caught the raw and fleeting moments of humanity – looking for shelter, kids playing in rubbles, and families sharing meals in shadows of bombed out buildings.
The raw immediacy of storytelling makes it impossible to turn away. The filmmakers refuse to romanticize the suffering, instead, they highlight the dignity and creativity of individuals, navigating life things in unimaginable circumstances. Here is the first look, the trailer of From Ground Zero.
History in The Making
Last year, Bisan Owda, of “I am Bisan from Gaza, and I am still alive” fame won Emmy for her Gaza war documentary. The global conversation about accountability and injustice has now reached at fever’s pitch.
From Ground Zero servers as both searing indictment of international complacency and for a call to action. The filmmakers do not shy away from unflinching realities of genocide, meanwhile, underscore the resilience of people who are telling the story despite the odds. The mosaic approach of many stories woven together enhances its impact.
The movie comes nothing short of message of resistance, testament to hope, and demand for long awaited recognition. The movie holds the mirror to the world leaders to do better. It is not only for cenophiles, but also for those who believe in power of storytelling can make this world a better place.
