'Gesture of resistance': Gaza war and Iran repression in Oscars spotlight
This year’s Oscars nominations include Middle Eastern films whose themes of war, government violence and protest have shone a spotlight on politics at home.
After a year of political upheaval, this year’s Middle Eastern Oscars contenders take power head-on — from a Tunisian film reconstructing the killing of Hind Rajab in Gaza that has riveted Hollywood to an Iranian dissident director defying his country’s censorship against the backdrop of a fierce government crackdown and Israeli filmmakers reckoning with the actions of their own military.
Announced Thursday, the categories in which films from the region are nominated include: Best International Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Live Action Short Film and Best Documentary Short Film.
Tunisia: Gaza's 'The Voice of Hind Rajab'
"The Voice of Hind Rajab," directed by the Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, reconstructs the final hours of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed in January 2024 by the Israeli military in Gaza