In one of the most important films of the year, Annemarie Jacir offers a raw and heartbreaking portrait of the early foundations of the illegal state of Israel. For those reading who do not know, no Jewish government ever existed in Palestine before 1948. However, Jews, Catholics, Christians and Muslims peacefully co-existed until Britain decided to occupy another land.
Set during Palestinian resistance against British illegal rule, Palestine 36 follows Yusuf, a young man grappling with the invasion and violence in his rural village and the decorated politics of cultural bridge-building in Jerusalem. As Jewish European immigrants (escaping their own genocide) arrive, tensions escalate as they are settled on land previously owned and lived on by Palestinian families. The villagers that remain stand in resistance as British violence grows harsher and more frequent. The laws are changing, European Jews are encouraged to build walls to keep the Palestinians out, and they are allowed to shoot to kill if they try to enter.
As soon as the film begins, Jacir lets the viewer know that this is not just a film; it is a digestible yet comprehensive historical account of the colonization of the country. Additionally, the film acts as a mirror: this is not the past. It is a living reality that has gone on for 75 years and the tools of White, religious supremacy are still at work. The script doesn’t overwhelm viewers despite being packed with historical detail. We see the cost of resistance and how deeply unfair it is, and the dangers of working with your oppressor. Nothing good can come from immoral collaboration – a lesson that punches the viewer in the gut when we learn that greed and righteousness from Palestinian political leaders aided in a successful colonization.
The film is beautiful as it educates, celebrates, and mourns the death of so many resistance fighters and the heroes who have never stopped fighting for their right to live. The ending doesn’t give viewers a resolution because there isn’t one. Instead, it gives us a lesson in how and why new generations continue to fight back and why they continue to resist.
May God and all of us do our part in protecting the Palestinian people.
Palestine 36: How to Steal a Country is playing at TIFF ’25. For more information, click here.
