Running across five cities – Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Canberra – from 1-11 May, the Festival will once again spotlight a selection of vibrant new voices alongside acclaimed international works, continuing its mission to share Palestinian culture and art with Australia and the world.
“This year’s program is guided by a deep emotional pulse,” said Festival Director Naser Shakhtour. “It’s about the power of Palestinian cinema to speak from the rubble, to conjure memory, and to imagine freedom. These films reflect not just the struggles, but the resilience, beauty, and strength of Palestinian culture”.
Feature highlights include:
- The Teacher, a tense, emotionally charged drama from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Farah Nabulsi. This gripping story of a Palestinian schoolteacher torn between compassion and resistance premiered at TIFF and is already earning acclaim for its moral complexity and powerful performances.
- To A Land Unknown, premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, and tells the story of two Palestinian friends stranded in Athens and driven to extremes in their quest for escape.
- Passing Dreams, the latest from Palestinian auteur Rashid Masharawi, follows 12-year-old Sami and his search for a missing bird through the West Bank. Shot across Bethlehem and Haifa, it’s a lyrical road movie laced with humour and quiet melancholy. Sydney exclusive.
- Thanks for Banking With Us, a darkly funny feminist drama from debut director Laila Abbas, traces two sisters’ fight for their inheritance amid patriarchal law and political upheaval. A sharp portrait of sisterhood and resistance. Screens in Sydney and Melbourne only.
- Upshot, winner of the Pardino d’Oro at Locarno, is a tightly scripted short drama about a journalist’s visit to a remote farm that unearths long-buried secrets.
The festival also presents a suite of searing new documentaries:
- From Ground Zero, produced by Masharawi’s Gaza-based fund, compiles 22 short works by displaced Palestinian artists working under bombardment.
- Gazan Tales, created in a filmmaking workshop with non-professional locals, offers a moving portrait of four men navigating daily life in Gaza before the most recent war. Screens in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth only.
- A Fidai Film, by Kamal Aljafari, investigates the 1982 looting of Palestinian archives in Beirut and confronts the Israeli institutions still holding them. Through recovered footage and radical re-editing, Aljafari reclaims what was taken. Sydney, Melbourne and Perth only.
- Yalla Parkour, directed by Areeb Zuaiter, tracks a powerful connection between a filmmaker and a parkour athlete in Gaza, blending nostalgia, memory and survival into a visually arresting portrait of youth and place. Melbourne and Perth only.
- An Orange from Jaffa, winner of the Clermont-Ferrand Grand Prix, is a short fiction gem about a young man’s desperate bid to cross a checkpoint. Directed by Mohammed Almughanni, the film distils the Palestinian condition into a single, high-stakes taxi ride
For over a decade, the Palestinian Film Festival Australia has been a vital space for creative and critical expression, offering audiences a cinematic journey that celebrates the richness of Palestinian life and storytelling. In 2025, it continues to offer a vision rooted in humanity, resilience and cultural connection.
2025 Palestinian Film Festival Australia
1–11 May 2025
LOCATIONS AND DATES:
Sydney 1-4 May, Dendy Newtown
Perth 2-4 May, Luna Leederville
Melbourne 8-11 May, Cinema Nova Carlton
Brisbane 9-11 May, Dendy Coorparoo
Canberra 9-11 May, Dendy Canberra
