Palestine’s ‘Wajib’ becomes official Oscar contender

Palestine has submitted official contender to next year’s Academy Awards in the United States.

Palestinian Annemarie Jacir's ‘Wajib’ has been submitted to the foreign-language category of the 2018 Oscars, which will take place in the US city of Los Angeles, California.

The comedic film ‘Wajib’ provides an intimate look into the ties of a Middle East community, with the added charm and skill of its co-leads, father and son team Mohammad Bakri and Saleh Bakri.

The Palestinian film made its premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, where it brought home three independent prizes.

Despite immense pressure on its filmmaking community, Palestine has fared well at the Oscars, earning two nominations in the foreign-language category with Hany Abu-Assad's ‘Paradise Now’ in 2006 and ‘Omar’ in 2014. Palestine also received a nomination in the documentary category with ‘5 Broken Cameras’ in 2013.

AI/AG