movies
Whether you’re looking for documentaries which will give you the background on what is happening in Gaza, a solid grounding in the history of Palestine, historical dramas which bring the impact of the Nakba into sharp focus, celebrations of Palestinian culture and persistence, or films which bring home the appalling realities of life under occupation, this list of feature films, documentaries and shorts covers everything.
Many of these films are available to stream online, some for free, and others are showing at film festivals across the world – keep an eye out for one near you!
This year has been anything but easy, but a host of stellar movie releases from the Middle East made 2022 a remarkable year for filmmaking across the region. We’re ending this year by looking back through these triumphs of cinema, so that you can start 2023 with a ready-made list of outstanding and poignant films to watch. Bear witness to the horrors of the Nakba with Farha, gain a sense of the struggles faced by artists and filmmakers working under Iranian censorship in Jafar Panahi’s No Bears, see life through the eyes of a Syrian family starting a new life in Belgium in My Paper Life, follow Yusra and Sara Mardini’s perilous journey to safety in The Swimmers, and feel true fear with Reem, a Palestinian woman whose life is plunged into disaster in Huda’s Salon.
Watching films and box-sets in Arabic is a brilliant way to improve your listening skills and to familiarise yourself with the Arabic language. The following list of Arabic movies and TV shows from across the Middle East features a range of different dialects and will help you start improving your Arabic from your couch!