Arab films from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Tunisia, Sweden, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco and Iraq have been entered into the Best International Feature Film category at next year’s Academy Awards.
The category, introduced in 1947 as Best Foreign Language Film, was renamed in 2020. The first Oscar in the category was awarded to Italy’s Shoeshine by Vittorio De Sica, while this year’s winner was Brazil’s I’m Still Here, directed by Walter Salles.
Here are the Arabic-language films hoping to reach the final shortlist for the 2026 Academy Awards.
Hijra
Saudi Arabia's entry is Shahad Ameen's Hijra. The coming-of-age tale is a spiritual journey that spans the kingdom. The film had its premiere in the Venezia Spotlight section of this year’s Venice Film Festival. Its story begins in 2001 in Taif, as a young girl, Sarah, her sister Janna and their grandmother Sitti take a bus to Makkah to perform Hajj.
Hijra is a co-production between Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and the UK and was shot by Chilean cinematographer Miguel Ioan Littin-Menz. The film stars Lamar Faden, Raghad Bokhari and Khairiah Nathmy.
A Sad and Beautiful World
Lebanon has chosen this Cyril Aris film as its submission. Aris’s first narrative feature follows childhood sweethearts Nino and Yasmina, who reconnect in their twenties as Lebanon faces economic and political turmoil.
The drama had its premiere last month in the Giornate degli Autori competition at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. Co-written with Bane Fakih, the project was a multinational production involving Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the US and Germany.
Aris is best known for his documentaries The Swing and Iraqi Odyssey. The film stars Hasan Akil and Mounia Akl, with supporting roles from Nada Abou Farhat and Rodrigue Sleiman.
All That’s Left of You
Jordan has submitted All That’s Left of You, directed by Cherien Dabis. The film follows a Palestinian family from the loss of their orchards in 1948 through decades of displacement.
It had its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival before being confirmed by the Royal Film Commission as Jordan’s official entry – the country’s ninth in this category.
The cast includes Saleh Bakri, Adam Bakri, Mohammad Bakri and Dabis herself. Production was relocated to Cyprus, Greece and Jordan after filming in Palestine became impossible due to conflict.
Dabis, who has directed episodes of Ozark and Only Murders in the Building, as well as the Arab-American comedy Ramy, made her feature debut with Amreeka (2009), about a Palestinian immigrant mother and her son living in Illinois.
Eagles of the Republic
Sweden’s entry is Eagles of the Republic, directed by Tarik Saleh. The Arabic-language thriller is the third instalment of Saleh's Cairo trilogy, after The Nile Hilton Incident and Boy from Heaven.
The film stars Fares Fares as an actor pressured into appearing in a propaganda film for the Egyptian government. It had its premiere in competition at Cannes in May 2025 and later screened in Toronto.
Raised in Stockholm by a Swedish mother and an Egyptian father, Saleh told The National in 2022 that his films are less about politics and more about examining authority.
“I’m interested in a more universal theme, which is authority,” he said. “Of course it’s political to investigate how authority works and how power is executed and how you become powerful.”
Saleh described Sweden’s choice as significant, noting on Instagram that it was the first time the country had put forward a film made entirely in Arabic.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Tunisia has put forth The Voice of Hind Rajab, by Kaouther Ben Hania, a drama is based on the real story of a five-year-old girl killed in Gaza by Israeli military forces.
The film had its premiere in competition at Venice Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize – second best film overall. It counts Hollywood stars Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara among its executive producers, alongside Oscar-winning directors Jonathan Glazer and Alfonso Cuaron.
Written and directed by Ben Hania, the film incorporates real audio recordings as its central narrative device. Shot in a single location, it focuses on silence, fear and the growing tension of a child left without rescue.
Palestine 36
Palestine's submission is Palestine 36, directed by Annemarie Jacir. Set in 1936, when the territory was under British mandate, the film follows Yusuf, a young man torn between his rural home and the rising unrest in Jerusalem.
As Jewish immigrants arrive fleeing fascist Europe and calls for Palestinian independence grow louder, tensions erupt into the Palestinian revolt of 1936–39.
The cast includes Jeremy Irons, Hiam Abbass, Saleh Bakri and Liam Cunningham. The film had its premiere in the Gala Presentations section of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Palestine’s Ministry of Culture confirmed the submission in August.
Jacir, one of Palestine’s most acclaimed filmmakers, previously directed the award-winning When I Saw You (2012) and the 2017 comedy Wajib. Palestine 36 is her largest production to date, featuring a regional and international ensemble cast.
Happy Birthday
Egypt has selected Happy Birthday by Sarah Goher as its official submission. The film, Goher’s directorial debut, tells the story of Toha, an eight-year-old maid who tries to organise a birthday party for a friend from the wealthy family she works for, despite never having celebrated her own.
The drama had its world premiere in the International Narrative Competition at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won three major prizes: Best International Feature, Best Screenplay and the Nora Ephron Award for Outstanding Female Director. The film was co-written with Mohamed Diab, known for Moon Knight and Clash, and is backed by actor Jamie Foxx who serves as executive producer.
Calle Malaga
Morocco’s entry is Calle Malaga, directed by Maryam Touzani. The Spanish-language drama follows Maria Angeles, an elderly Spanish woman in Tangier who is determined to hold on to her family home, even as her daughter pushes to sell it. The film stars veteran Spanish actress Carmen Maura in the lead role.
Calle Malaga had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival where it won the Spotlight section’s Audience Award. It later screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Special Presentations programme. Touzani, whose earlier works Adam and The Blue Caftan were Morocco’s previous submissions, makes her first foray into Spanish-language cinema with this project.
The President’s Cake
Iraq has put forward The President’s Cake by Hasan Hadi. The film is set in Baghdad during the Saddam Hussein era and centres on nine-year-old Lamia, who must find ingredients to bake a birthday cake for the president. Failure to deliver the cake would have dire consequences for her family, turning the seemingly simple task into a matter of survival.
The film had its premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight section, where it won both the Audience Award and the Camera d’Or for Best Debut Feature. The recognition marked the first time an Iraqi filmmaker had received the top honour for a debut at Cannes.
