cinema

Filmmaker and actor Mohammad Bakri at the Supreme Court, in Jerusalem, May 16, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Until his final day, Mohammad Bakri would not be crushed

Israel’s courts, military, and mainstream media united to punish the Palestinian actor for giving voice to his people. But he remained unbroken to the end.

By Michael Sfard January 6, 2026

Screening of ‘No Other Land’ in At-Tuwani, Masafer Yatta, occupied West Bank, March 14, 2024. (Oren Ziv)

Israel decries Hollywood boycott — while silencing its own critical filmmakers

Films challenging dominant Zionist narratives have long faced bans, funding cuts, and smear campaigns from Israeli officials and right-wing activists alike.

By Roy Cohen September 22, 2025

A still from the short film 'Sorry Cinema' by Ahmed Hassouna, part of a film project produced by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi. (Courtesy of Rashid Masharawi)

‘Film was the best way to convey our art amid the suffering in Gaza’

Shunned by the Cannes Festival, Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi organized a protest screening of short films made by Gazans during the war.

By Ruwaida Amer July 2, 2024

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A still from the film "Let It Be Morning," directed by Eran Kolirin, based on the book by Sayed Kashua. (Courtesy of Dori Media/Les Films Du Poisson)

The dilemma of Palestinian representation in Israeli cinema

The cast of Israel's Oscars pick, ‘Let It Be Morning,’ open up about the conflict of sharing a Palestinian story in a country that erases their identity.

By Natalie Alz October 21, 2021

Mira Awad speaking at the Solidarity Human Rights Film Festival. (Screenshot)

WATCH: Human rights film festival held in Israel amid censorship fears

The Solidarity Human Rights Festival, which screens films focused on human rights and activism, recently took place in Tel Aviv. It was held amid increasing concerns around censorship of culture and the arts. Read more: The cultural terrorism of Miri Regev For Palestinian artists, freedom of speech is anything but guaranteed

By Social TV May 29, 2017

Image from the Israeli film Policeman (© 2014 Corinth Films)

Film Review: ‘Policeman,’ a study of the Israeli alpha male

By leaving the Palestinian conflict in the background, filmmaker Lapid manages to skip over the common ‘shooting-and-crying’ formula, in which Israeli protagonists are portrayed more as victims than perpetrators of the conflict. The timing of the release of Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid’s debut, “Policeman,” was very unique in Israel: October 2011, right after that summer’s…

By Noam Sheizaf June 21, 2014

The fall of the house of Herzl: Israel as a horror flick

Horror films are often centered around a house: a safe haven. But they are also a place of danger and sometimes a monster in and of themselves. To Israelis, the Jewish state can play all three roles. Last week my girlfriend Ruthie came up with a scary idea: “Why don’t we start watching classic…

By Yuval Ben-Ami June 24, 2013