Republic Of Palestine | February, 2026
Since its founding in 2002 on the Italian island of Sardinia, the Al-Ard Film Festival has become one of Europe’s most prominent platforms dedicated to Palestinian cinema, a cultural and universal space connecting the seventh art with the political and human rights context of the Palestinian cause. The festival was launched by the Cagliari-Palestine Friendship Association, in response to efforts to isolate and marginalize the Palestinian narrative within the Western cultural scene, establishing a continuous path of cultural solidarity based on knowledge and commitment.
This year, the festival reaches its 22nd edition, held in the city of Cagliari from February 18–22, 2026, amid a global political context marked by the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip and expanding ethnic cleansing policies in the West Bank and the rest of Palestine.
Festival Programs and Participating Films
The official competition includes 24 films, selected from more than 300 submissionsfrom filmmakers worldwide. The films are distributed as follows:
• 12 feature-length documentaries
• 5 short films
• 7 observational films
In addition, 3 films are shown out of competition.
These films reflect the diverse artistic and political approaches of Palestinian and Arab cinema, addressing issues of colonialism, displacement, memory, resistance, and human justice.
Parallel Cultural and Educational Program
Festival activities extend beyond screening days, forming the culmination of a year-round cultural and educational program across Sardinia, managed by the Cagliari-Palestine Friendship Association. This program includes workshops and educational meetings in schools and universities, highlighting:
• “Palestine Teaches”
• “Palestine in the Curriculum”
The goal is to integrate the Palestinian cause into European educational spaces, using cinema as a tool for critical knowledge and consciousness building.
Jury and Guests of Honor
The jury for this edition includes prominent figures in cinema and culture:
• Palestinian director Laila Abbas
• Arabic language professor and film critic Aldonquosia
• Sociology professor and director Daniele Roggo
• Photographer and director Fabio Volti
Along with the collective participation of the Sardinia Cinematheque and various participating filmmakers.
Guests of honor include director Monica Maurer, Palestinian writer and poet Ibrahim Nasrallah, and professor Wasim Dahmash, with the festival concluding with a musical performance by Palestinian singer Kamelia Jibran.
Clear Political and Cultural Stance
The Al-Ard Film Festival emphasizes that this edition, like previous ones, stems from a clear ethical and political stance, seeing culture as a human act committed to justice, rejecting neutrality in the face of genocide and continued aggression against the Palestinian people. Defending culture is integral to defending humanity against repression and attempts to silence resistance voices, including in Europe.
Palestinian Dabke: Festival Symbol
The visual design of the 22nd edition reflects this stance, with the Palestinian dabke as the festival’s symbol—a collective act rooted in the land, a cultural message in the face of genocide, expressing persistence of life and human solidarity across borders, from Palestine to Sardinia, and from Gaza to all corners of the world.
Participating Countries
Films come from:
Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Qatar, Tunisia, Spain, Singapore, Turkey, France, United Kingdom, and the United States.
