It deals with the 1936 revolution.. “Palestine 36” wins the grand prize at the Tokyo Film Festival | art

The film “Palestine 36” by Palestinian director Anne-Marie Jacir won the Tokyo Grand Prix at the conclusion of the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival, becoming the first Palestinian film to win this award in the festival’s history.

The film, a historical drama that represents Palestine in the Oscar race for the Best International Film category of 2025, deals with the Palestinian revolution in 1936 against British colonial rule and Jewish settlers, and narrates its events from a human perspective that reflects the beginnings of Palestinian national consciousness. The award is accompanied by a financial reward of 3 million Japanese yen (about 19,545 dollars).

The plot of “Palestine 36” revolves around several characters whose lives intersect: Youssef, a young man coming from a Palestinian village, moves to work in Jerusalem and finds himself in the midst of accelerating political and social unrest. On the other hand, characters such as journalist Kholoud and the workers at the port face increasing pressure from the British and the entering Jewish colonists.

The film does not stop at historical events only, but rather seeks to link the past with the present, showing how that period formed the first seeds of the ongoing conflict.

The film was directed by Anne-Marie Jacir, who also wrote the script. The film includes a group of prominent Arab and international actors, including Hiam Abbas, Yasmine Al-Masry, and Saleh Bakri, along with international stars Jeremy Irons and Liam Cunningham.

Jacir’s speech and special honor

Jacir said in a speech via a live broadcast after the announcement of the results, “This award is a very great honor, and it means everything to my team and to me and to all those who worked hard on this film and struggled to bring it to light. Sharing it and receiving this honor is a very beautiful thing.”

The award was presented by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who praised in her speech the ability of cinema to transcend borders, “Cinema can transcend barriers of language and culture. It is a very powerful art form that has the ability to connect people’s hearts. Unfortunately, divisions occur all over the world, and natural disasters also ravage us. But cinema has an amazing ability to heal human hearts.”

Tokyo Film Festival Awards

The awards were announced today, Wednesday, and were as follows:

• Special Jury Prize: “We Are the Fruits of the Forest” by Cambodian director Rithy Pan is a documentary about the indigenous Bonong people of Cambodia and their struggle to preserve their heritage in the face of modernity. The prize value is 500,000 yen (about 3,300 dollars).
• Best Direction Award (shared): Zhang Lu for Mothertongue, a Sichuan drama that tells the story of a failed actress who returns to her hometown to review her life. Alecio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zubis for the film “Inscription or Writing?” (Heads or Tails?), an homage to classic Westerns set in northern Italy in the early 1900s. The value of each prize is 300,000 yen ($1,955).
• Best Actress (shared): Momoko Fukuchi and Kawase Naomi for their roles as daughter and mother in the Japanese film “Echoes of Motherhood” directed by Ryotaro Nakagawa, which is the third part of a trilogy that deals with the relationship of a mother with her daughter through different stages of life.
• Best Actor: Wang Quanjun for his role in the film “Mother Tongue”, after a performance that won praise from the jury, which described his portrayal as “rarely delicate and emotional.”
• Best artistic contribution: It went to the film “Mother” by director Teona Strogar Mitevska, which is a co-production between Belgium and North Macedonia, and the prize amounted to 300 thousand yen (about 1955 dollars).
• Audience Award: The award was given to the Japanese film “Blonde” by director Yuichiro Sakashita, which tells the story of a middle school teacher who finds himself at the center of a scandal that shakes his professional and personal life.