Annemarie Jacir’s masterpiece, Palestine 36, was screened at the 17th annual Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes), last month in spite of the Union government’s censorship of Palestinian films slated to be shown at Indian film festivals around the country.In December, three Palestinian films, Cherien Dabis’ All That’s Left of You and Arab and Tarzan Nasser’s Once Upon a Time in Gaza, as well as Jacir’s previous movie, Wajib, were not granted permission for screening at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).Even though Kerala’s minister of cultural affairs, Saji Cherian, asked that the censored films be screened, ultimately the IFFK chose not to take that risk. This year, the censorship of these films did not come from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC); it came from India’s Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi. Possibly, the fear of a diplomatic incident led to Kerala’s refusal to resist government censorship of these films despite threats to the contrary. Or perhaps they were afraid of an event like the one that occurred in a Palestinian theatre in Jerusalem last month where Israel arrested the projectionist for screening Jacir’s Palestine 36.A similar scenario recurred at BIFFes where Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s film The Voice of Hind Rajab, as well as Dabis’ film, were censored from this year’s lineup, although both films were printed in the festival’s catalog. All three, including Palestine 36, have achieved the honor of being shortlisted for the Academy Awards this year, although Ben Hania’s film is the only one to have made the final Oscar cut. Murali P.B., the artistic director of BIFFes, stated, “If we had our own theatre space, we would have screened all of them.” But screening in privately-owned multiplexes requires that they abide by ministry guidelines less their licenses get revoked. Funnily enough, the fact that no one objected to Abbas Fahdel’s documentary, Tales of the Wounded Land at BIFFes suggests that the Union government is only concerned with facile appearances, for Fahdel’s film is a scathing indictment about Israel’s ongoing bombing and devastation of South Lebanon.A still from Palestine 36. Photo: Philistine Films.It was ironic to watch Jacir’s Palestine 36 amidst this conspiracy of censorship because I first met Jacir when we both lived in Amman, Jordan in 2010. She was curating an exhibition, with illustrator Nidal Al Khairy, about art and politics and asked me to write about my experiences with self-censorship for their show at Makan Art Space. It also seemed ironic because of all the Palestinian films slated for film festivals this year, Jacir’s seems the most apt for the moment we find ourselves in. Dabis’ film is a multigenerational narrative that follows a Palestinian family moving through pivotal moments in Palestinian history, starting with the Nakba in 1948. Ben Hania’s film is a dramatisation centring on the brutal death of five-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in 2024. But Jacir’s film takes us to an earlier moment in history to the birth of Palestinian resistance to foreign colonisation of their land. But Jacir’s film takes us to an earlier moment in history to the birth of Palestinian resistance to foreign colonization of their land. This is a moment in history from which Hamas derives the name of its armed wing, Al Qassam Brigades, from Shaikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam who fought to dislodge British and French colonialism from the region. The poster of Palestine 36. Photo: Philistine Films.Palestine 36 is Jacir’s second historically-rooted film narrating the Palestinian resistance; the first one, When I Saw You (2012), is set in Jordan’s Palestinian refugee camps in 1967. The film has a sweeping feel, although it only covers the first two years of the Palestinian rebellion, which began in 1936. The film, shot in Palestine and Jordan, opens with scenes of life in Palestine that look as though they were lifted straight out of Elias Sanbar’s photographic history, Les Palestiniens. Jacir used extensive archival footage, which she colourised to seamlessly blend historic scenes into her film. Viewers see bustling images from Jaffa and Jerusalem, which are brought to life by the meticulous attention to details – large and small – from steam engine trains, buses, and British tanks to postage stamps. Likewise the Palestinian homes we see, in Jerusalem’s affluent suburbs and in Al Basa, Jacir invites us into intimate moments among the characters, grounding us in their relationships and lives before havoc ensues. These characters comprise a magnificent ensemble cast, including relatively small parts played by film giants like Hiam Abbass, Saleh Bakri, and Jeremy Irons. Palestine 36’s scenes shift from dockworkers at Jaffa’s port, to villagers tending to their fields in Al Basa, to Jerusalem’s elite wining and dining with their British colonisers. It’s a story about Palestinian resistance to the British occupation of their land and their complicity in supporting Zionists to that end. It is not a story about Jews and Arabs. We only see glimpses of Jews arriving on boats, having fled European persecution or Jews setting up fenced off colonies on Palestinian land. When Al Basa’s villagers gather to discuss how to combat the theft of their land, one elder says, “Those so-called neighbours came to replace us, not to live with us.” It is in contrast to the fact, as another villager responds, “We have always welcomed people of all faiths to this land.”Rumblings of resistance originate among the dockworkers with a strike which would become the longest in history at that time. Images of calm ports and shuttered shops highlight the effect of the Palestinian work stoppage. We witness Palestinian upper-class women protesting at the High Commissioner’s office shouting “Palestine is not for sale!” The strike catapults Khalid into armed resistance against the British. In parallel, we see villagers in Al Basa dousing the flames on their fields set by the Zionist settlers to uproot them. Yusuf binds these narratives together: he’s deeply committed to his village; he works in Jerusalem for one of Palestine’s elite; and he joins Khalid in the resistance. Jacir deftly bears out the complexity of this pivotal moment in Palestinian history through the range of Palestinian and British characters. Among the British, Thomas is a naive figure, who believes they’re helping Palestinians. In contrast, Captain Wingate, is a Christian Zionist, faithful to the cause of giving Palestine to the Jews, telling Thomas, “We’re at the crossroads of a major moment in time. We will see the first Jewish army in 2,000 years arrive. Perhaps you should consider which side of history you want to be on.”By centering the film on Palestinians’ struggle against the British, it documents how Zionists codified their methods of suppressing Palestinians. In one scene, Thomas catalogs such tactics, “We’ve shut down every Arab printing press, we’ve banned newspapers, censored their mail, intercepted their telephone calls, we set up check posts and curfews. We’ve even taken away their bloody livestock.” The audience witnesses Wingate carrying out such manoeuvres, including collective punishment, home demolitions, mass detention, human shields, checkpoints and curfews, and ethnic cleansing – all methods Israel adopted. The weight of such scenes – as when Hanan and Abu Rabab’s home is bombed while they’re inside – is overwhelming. But their death offers a powerful counterweight: before Abu Rabab’s murder, he shouts, “As Qassem preached, better to die a martyr!”A still from Palestine 36. Photo: Philistine Films.The film’s historical thrust makes it essential viewing for anyone wanting to understand Palestine’s historical and current context. It’s also a superlative piece of cinema: the writing, direction, acting, costumes, props, cinematography, and editing. And while it ends with the tragedy of Al Basa’s depopulation, there’s hope in its two youngest villagers descending upon the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City – Kareem, shooting a gun at a British soldier, and Afra, watching a joyful protest of Palestinians performing a dabke dance, refusing to submit to their colonisation.Watching this film during Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza certainly makes it resonate for anyone who is privy to the harrowing brutality on our screens each day. Indeed, the cast and crew lived the weight of making a film while their people are being annihilated.Those who sit through the credits will find resonance in the film’s dedication: “For our people in Gaza. In the years the world failed you.” Marcy Newman is author of ‘The Politics of Teaching Palestine to Americans’ (2011). She is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, the International Jewish Antizionist Network, and a founding member of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.