{"id":417821,"date":"2026-09-29T13:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T16:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=417821"},"modified":"2026-09-29T13:31:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T16:31:29","slug":"arab-films-seeking-to-compete-for-an-oscar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/arab-films-seeking-to-compete-for-an-oscar\/","title":{"rendered":"Arab films seeking to compete for an Oscar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Six Arab countries have so far selected films to compete for a spot among the nominees for Best International Feature Film at the 2027 Oscars. Film academies have until Sept. 30 to submit their entries. The shortlist will be announced on Dec. 15, with the five finalists to be revealed on Jan. 21. The 99th<\/sup> Academy Awards will be held on March 14 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film selected to represent Brazil in the competition is Gugu\u2019s World<\/em> (2026), directed by Allan Deberton. It tells the story of a boy\u2019s fear as he watches his grandmother\u2019s illness progress and faces the prospect of living with his father, with whom he has a difficult relationship. Below are the Arab films that have already been submitted for Oscar consideration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strawberries<\/em> \u2013 Morocco<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Two Moroccan women travel to Andalusia, Spain, to work on strawberry farms during the harvest season. What was meant to be an opportunity to improve their living conditions turns into a reality of exploitation, harassment and poor working conditions in Laila Marrakchi\u2019s feature film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citizen Osama<\/em> \u2013 Palestine<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ahmed Hassouna\u2019s documentary explores the story of photographer and filmmaker Osama Al-Ashi, documenting the devastation unfolding around him in Gaza as he tries to protect his family. Loss, hunger and displacement are among the themes explored in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stories<\/em> \u2013 Egypt<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Set against the backdrop of the 1967 war, Abu Bakr Shawky\u2019s film follows a young man from a humble background in Cairo who dreams of becoming a pianist. His life changes, however, when he begins a pen-pal romance with an Austrian woman. The Stories<\/em> is inspired by a story from the director\u2019s own family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sink<\/em> \u2013 Jordan<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Mental health is the central theme of Zaian Duraie\u2019s feature film. The story follows a young man who is suspended after an outburst during his final year of high school. His mother, Nadia, refuses to accept that her son is struggling and dismisses the warning signs as tragedy looms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman<\/em> \u2013 Iraq<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A female sniper discovers that her younger sister, who disappeared in 2014 at the hands of terrorists, may still be alive and sets out to find her. The film is a co-production between Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Sweden and Norway and is the second film by director Halkawt Mustafa to represent Iraq in the Oscar race. The first was El Clasico<\/em> (2016).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roqia<\/em> \u2013 Algeria<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After a car accident, a man returns home with his face covered in bandages and no memory of his past. Following his arrival, disturbing events begin to unfold in the village where he lives. Yanis Koussim\u2019s psychological horror film draws on events that took place in Algeria in the 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also<\/em>:
Brazil expands copyright exports<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Supplied<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Productions from Egypt, Morocco and Palestine are among those seeking a spot on the final list of foreign-language films competing for the statuette.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2316,"featured_media":417813,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[2034,9583,9534,48455,58199,591,9537,9558,10885,9897,24464],"class_list":{"0":"post-417821","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"tag-algeria","9":"tag-arabs-en","10":"tag-brazil-en","11":"tag-egypt-2","12":"tag-feito-pipa","13":"tag-iraq","14":"tag-jordan-en","15":"tag-morocco-en","16":"tag-oscars","17":"tag-palestine-en","18":"tag-strawberries"},"wps_subtitle":"Productions from Egypt, Morocco and Palestine are among those seeking a spot on the final list of foreign-language films competing for the statuette.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417821"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":417824,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417821\/revisions\/417824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}