Palestine 36: Revolt, Drama, History
2026-07-31 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | St James Episcopal Church – Parish Hall, 1991 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02140
Palestine 36 is an internationally acclaimed 2025 historical drama and epic written and directed by Annemarie Jacir. The film interweaves fictional narratives with archival footage and historical recreation to tell its story.
1936. As villages across Mandatory Palestine rise against British colonial rule, Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the restless energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest. But history is relentless. With rising numbers of Jewish immigrants escaping antisemitism in Europe, and the Palestinian population uniting in the largest and longest uprising against Britain’s 30-year dominion, all sides spiral towards inevitable collision in a decisive moment for the British Empire and the future of the entire region.
The farmer-led revolt against British colonialism in 1936 marked the beginning of the largest and longest uprising against Britain’s 30-year rule. Palestinians from all classes were mobilized, and nationalistic sentiment spread in the Arabic press, schools, social and literary circles. The British, taken aback by the extent and intensity of the revolt, retaliated by placing Palestine under martial law, deploying over twenty thousand troops to Palestine, and still failed to control a population of less than one million people. Ships arrived loaded with tanks and machine guns. The Royal Air Force began strafing the countryside. Thousands of Palestinians were imprisoned, beaten, and the leadership exiled. The revolt lasted for three years and was arguably the largest and longest anticolonial uprising in the British Empire.
Palestine’s Official Selection for the 98th Academy Awards.
Sponsored by MAPA, Cambridge for Palestine, and the Boston Palestine Film Festival.
The film will be screened in the Parish Hall of St. James Church. The Parish Hall is in the modern condo/ office building which is located next to the historic stone church. If you have not been to the location before, please print out these directions before you go!
