On a November day in 2026, Al Jazeera turned its attention to a quiet but meaningful shift: Palestinian stories finding their way onto the global screen. At the center stands Who Is Still Alive, the film Switzerland has chosen to send to the 2027 Oscars, and whose director and cast the network spoke with directly. The outlet frames this as a growing reach rather than the triumph of a single work, and it expects a record number of Palestinian-themed films to be honored next year. Yet that record remains a forecast, awaiting the Academy's own verdict on who will stand among the nominees.
Palestinian Stories Poised for Record Presence at 2027 Oscars
The record is an expectation, not a result.
Mark
So what is actually being reported here?
Mimi
That Palestinian stories are reaching global audiences through film, and that a record number are expected to get Oscar nominations next year. Al Jazeera also spoke to the director and cast of Who Is Still Alive.
Mark
And that film is Switzerland's entry?
Mimi
Yes, for Best International Feature at the 2027 Oscars.
Luke
Let me slow down there. Who is expecting the record? The report says it is expected, but the material here does not say by whom.
Mimi
That's fair. It reads as the outlet's own projection.
Luke
Right, and no numbers are given. We don't know how many films, or what the current record is.
Mark
Does the Swiss entry status mean it will be nominated?
Mimi
No. It is a national submission, which comes before nominations.
Luke
And we don't know what the director or cast said. We know they were interviewed, nothing more.
Mark
So what should a reader watch for?
Mimi
The nominations announcement. That is when the expectation is either confirmed or not.
The Pulse
- A record number of Palestinian-themed films is expected to earn Oscar nominations, a claim still waiting for proof.
- Who Is Still Alive, Switzerland's 2027 Best International Feature entry, has been pulled into the spotlight.
- Al Jazeera has gone to the source, interviewing the film's director and cast about their work.
- Selection as a national entry is only the first step; the nominations announcement will decide whether the projection holds.
On a November day in 2026, Al Jazeera turned its attention to a quiet but meaningful shift: Palestinian stories finding their way onto the global screen. At the center stands Who Is Still Alive, the film Switzerland has chosen to send to the 2027 Oscars, and whose director and cast the network spoke with directly. The outlet frames this as a growing reach rather than the triumph of a single work, and it expects a record number of Palestinian-themed films to be honored next year. Yet that record remains a forecast, awaiting the Academy's own verdict on who will stand among the nominees.
Al Jazeera has published a short video report on Palestinian cinema and the coming Academy Awards, built around one striking expectation: that a record number of Palestinian stories will receive Oscar nominations next year. The report, released on 14 November 2026, keeps its focus on a single film, Who Is Still Alive, which Switzerland has submitted for Best International Feature at the 2027 ceremony.
The network spoke with the film's director and members of its cast. The material available does not name them or describe what they said, so the reporting's human voices remain outside the reach of this account.
The outlet's broader framing is that Palestinian stories are reaching global audiences through cinema. It places Who Is Still Alive within a wider body of Palestinian-themed work it expects the Academy to recognize.
The record, however, is an expectation rather than a result. Nominations have not yet been announced, and the report does not say how many films are involved or what benchmark it is measured against. Selection as a national entry is a step toward nomination, not a guarantee of one. The Academy's announcement will show whether the projected record is confirmed.
Al Jazeera has published a short video report on Palestinian cinema and the coming Academy Awards, built around a single claim: a record number of Palestinian stories are expected to receive Oscar nominations next year. The report was published on 14 November 2026.
The film at the center of the coverage is Who Is Still Alive, which is Switzerland's entry for Best International Feature at the 2027 Oscars. Al Jazeera spoke to the film's director and to members of its cast. The material available here does not name them, and it does not describe what they said.
The report's framing is that Palestinian stories are reaching global audiences through cinema. That is a statement about reach rather than about any single film. It places Who Is Still Alive within a wider movement of Palestinian-themed work that the outlet expects to be recognized at the awards.
The record itself is an expectation, not a result. Nominations for the 2027 ceremony have not been announced, and the report does not say who is expected to be nominated, how many films that includes, or which previous year sets the benchmark. Those details are not in the material available, so the size of the projected record cannot be checked from it.
The Swiss submission is also notable on its own terms. Each country sends one film to compete in the international category, and Switzerland chose Who Is Still Alive. Being selected as a national entry is a step before any nomination, not a guarantee of one.
What can be said with confidence is limited but clear. Al Jazeera interviewed the people behind one specific Oscar entry, and it reported the expectation of a record Palestinian presence at the 2027 awards. What remains to be seen is whether the nominations bear that out. The Academy's announcement of nominees will show whether Who Is Still Alive and other Palestinian-themed films make the final lists, and whether the projected record holds.
Notable Quotes
Palestinian stories are reaching global audiences through cinema, with a record number expected to get Oscar nominations next year.— Al Jazeera report
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