Annemarie Jacir’s award-winning film Palestine 36 leads the nominations for the 10th edition of the Critics Awards For Arab Films, which were announced today.

The annual prizes, organized by the Arab Cinema Centre (ACC), have been voted on by a record 307 Arab and international critics from 75 countries this year, with the awards ceremony due to take place during the Cannes Film Festival on May 16.

Palestine 36 has been nominated in six categories including best film, director and screenplay.  It is followed by Maryam Touzani’s Calle Málaga with five nominations; Cherien Dabis’ All That’s Left Of You with four; and then Yunan, My Father’s Scent, and Once Upon A Time in Gaza with three each.

Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated and Venice Grand Jury Prize winner Gaza War-set drama The Voice of Hind Rajab has garnered just one nomination in the best director category.

Exploring the events around the 1936-1939 revolt in which Palestinians rose up against Britain’s colonial rule, Palestine 36 world premiered in Toronto last year and went to tour raft of festivals, winning the Tokyo Grand Prix, and made it into the Academy Awards Best International Feature Film December shortlist.

Following a packed festival run, Watermelon Pictures launched the picture theatrically in North America at the end of March. It has also enjoyed successful runs in the UK and a raft of European territories and continues to travel.

Moroccan director Touzani’s Spanish-language drama Calle Málaga, starring Carmen Maura as a woman fighting to keep her childhood home in Tangier, debuted in Venice, winning the Audience Award.

U.S.-Palestinian director Dabis’ All That’s Left Of You, following three generations of a Palestinian family in the wake of 1948, premiered at Sundance, and also made it onto the Best International Feature Film shortlist.

Recent winners of the best film award are Thank You For Banking With Us! (2025) and Goodbye Julia (2024).

The Full List Of 2026 Nominees:

Best Feature Film

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA | Tarzan and Arab Nasser | Palestine
PALESTINE 36 | Annemarie Jacir | Palestine
ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU | Cherien Dabis | Palestine
CALLE MÁLAGA | Maryam Touzani | Morocco
COTTON QUEEN | Suzannah Mirghani | Sudan

Best Screenplay

Amer Nasser and Marie Legrand| ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Cherien Dabis | ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU
Annemarie Jacir | PALESTINE 36
Maryam Touzani and Nabil Ayouch | CALLE MÁLAGA
Ahmed Amer and Mohamed Siam | MY FATHER’S SCENT

Best Director

Maryam Touzani | CALLE MÁLAGA
Cherien Dabis | ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU
Tarzan and Arab Nasser | ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Annemarie Jacir | PALESTINE 36
Kaouther Ben Hania | THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB

Best Actress

Deborah Christelle Naney | PROMISED SKY
Mounia Akl | A SAD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD
Yasmine Al Massri | PALESTINE 36
Carmen Maura | CALLE MÁLAGA
Baneen Ahmad Nayyef | THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE

Best Actor

Adham Shukr | THE SETTLEMENT
Nawwaf Aldaferi | HIJRA
Dhafer L’Abidine | PALESTINE 36
Georges Khabbaz | YUNAN
Ahmed Malek | MY FATHER’S SCENT

Best Music

Armand Amar | HIJRA
Suad Bushnaq | YUNAN
Amine Bouhafa | AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY
Omar El-Deeb | THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE
Freya Arde | CALLE MÁLAGA

Best Editing

Ameer Fakher Eldin | YUNAN
Ahmed Hafez | MY FATHER’S SCENT
Qutaiba Barhamji, Maxime Mathis, and Kaouther Ben Hania | THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB
Heba Othman | THE SETTLEMENT
Zeina Aboul Hosn | DEAD DOG

Best Cinematography

Hélène Louvart | PALESTINE 36
Mostafa El Kashef | AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY
Joe Saade | A SAD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD
Christopher Aoun | ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU
Frida Marzouk | PROMISED SKY

Best Documentary

THE LIONS BY THE RIVER TIGRIS | Zaradasht Ahmed | Iraq
KHARTOUM | Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, and Phil Cox | Sudan
50 METERS | Yomna Khattab | Egypt
LIFE AFTER SIHAM | Namir Abdel Messeeh | Egypt
DO YOU LOVE ME | Lana Daher | Lebanon

Best Short Film

L’MINA | Randa Maroufi | Morocco
IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL HERE | Basma Alsharif and Kamal Aljafari |  Palestine
CONTROL ANATOMY | Mahmoud Al Haj | Palestine
I’M GLAD YOU’RE DEAD NOW | Tawfeek Barhom | Palestine
SOUS LES RUINES | Nadhir Bouslama | Tunisia