‘From Ground Zero’ of Palestine makes to Oscar Shortlist 2025

Palestinian Director Rashid Masharawi’s ‘From Ground Zero’, has been officially shortlisted for the Oscar 2025 under the Best International Feature Film category

Oscar Shortlist 2025: Palestinian Director Rashid Masharawi’s ‘From Ground Zero’, has been officially shortlisted for the Oscar 2025 under the Best International Feature Film category.

“From Ground Zero” - a collection of 22 short films made in Gaza, is one of the 15 films shortlisted in the category for the 97th Academy Awards, the organisers announced Wednesday.

“From Ground Zero - Stories from Gaza” - offers poignant short films depicting daily life, resilience, and the harsh realities faced by the Palestinians facing Genocide by the Israeli Occupation Forces in Gaza.

'From Ground Zero Trailer'

The Palestinian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards, "From Ground Zero" was also premiered at the 5th Amman International Film Festival and the 49th Toronto International Film Festival in September. The film was also screened at the 28th Arab Film Festival held in the same month.

Gaza-born director Rashid Masharawi had in November 2023 founded the Masharawi Fund to support films and filmmakers in Gaza. "From Ground Zero" - the fund’s first project, was aimed at providing internally displaced artists a platform to express their personal stories amidst the devastation of Israel’s prolonged assault, which led to severe humanitarian crises and widespread trauma.

The anthology comprises 22 short films, each ranging from three to six minutes, showcasing a variety of genres and narrative styles, including documentary, drama, animation and experimental video art.

Oscar Shortlist 2025

Besides "From Ground Zero", other 14 films in the Oscar short list 2025 are Emilia Pérez (France), I'm Still Here (Brazil), Universal Language (Canada), Waves (Czech Republic), The Girl with the Needle (Denmark), and The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany).

The other contenders in the category are Touch (Iceland), Kneecap (Ireland), Vermiglio (Italy), Flow (Latvia), Armand (Norway), Dahomey (Senegal), How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies (Thailand), and Santosh (United Kingdom).

India has selected ‘Laapataa Ladies’ as its official entry for the 2025 Oscars under the best foriegn film category. The film however has failed to enter the final Osar round.

According to the Academy, 85 countries or regions had submitted films that were eligible for consideration in the International Feature Film category for the 97th Academy Awards.

The final Oscar nominations will be announced on January 17, 2025.

Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.

Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.