The Palestinian entry for 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 screened at the 28th Arab Film Festival, which took place in the same month.
Gaza-born director Rashid Masharawi, who founded the Masharawi Fund in November 2023 to support films and filmmakers in Gaza, used From Ground Zero as the fund’s inaugural project.
The anthology features 22 short films, each lasting between three and six minutes, showcasing a diverse range of genres and narrative styles, including documentary, drama, animation, and experimental video art.
The film aimed to provide a platform for internally displaced artists to share their personal stories amid the devastation caused by Israel’s prolonged assault, which resulted in severe humanitarian crises and widespread trauma.
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).
