One of the fundamental episodes for understanding the current situation in the Gaza Strip is the Arab Revolt of 1936, the first major Arab military uprising against the British Empire. In this uprising, Palestinians demanded their independence and protested against mass Jewish immigration. The revolution lasted three years and was one of the longest anti-colonial uprisings in the entire British Empire. Director Annemarie Jacir has brought this rebellion to cinema in Palestine 36 (2026). The film premieres this Friday and is a major international co-production between 14 countries – the most important in the history of Palestinian cinema – which interweaves a web of stories within the framework of the anti-colonial uprising. “It doesn’t feel like a film from the past, but rather it is more current than ever,” Annemarie Jacir explains to ARA via video call, who in 2008 was the first Palestinian woman to shoot a feature film with Salt of This Sea.Taken from some clandestine documentaries, Palestine 36 is the only feature film shot in the region of Palestine since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023. Filming began before the conflict started, but it had to be interrupted and moved to Jordan. Thirteen months later, they returned to Bethlehem to complete the film. Jacir details that the film's production was stopped and resumed up to four times. “Filming this movie has been a revolt in itself; everyone has contributed to the cause in one way or another,” she explains. For Jacir, the Palestinian people “have lived the same thing for decades and decades,” and the film “portrays the dispossession of their homes and their lands.” “This is the personal story of every Palestinian: we rise again, and they repress us again,” says Jacir.