2025's most impactful films and documentaries: Stories of resistance, memory and hope

The cinematic landscape of 2025 has been marked by films that do more than entertain — they bear witness, provoke reflection, and preserve memory in a world defined by conflict, displacement, and resilience.

From Zahraa Ghandour's intimate documentary Flana, which exposes the systemic erasure of girls in Iraq, to Annemarie Jacir's Palestine 36, selected as the Palestinian entry for best international feature film at next year's Oscars, these works foreground stories that are urgent, often overlooked, and deeply human.

Films like Kaouther Ben Hania's The Voice of Hind Rajab — nominated for the 2026 Golden Globe for 'Best non-English language film' — confront Israel's genocide in Gaza, documenting the final hours of a child and the tireless, fraught efforts of emergency responders.

At the same time, documentaries such as The Mission and The Encampments shine a light on frontline struggles — from war-torn hospitals to student-led activism in solidarity with Palestine — offering viewers a visceral understanding of human endurance, injustice, and hope.

Together, these films demonstrate the power of cinema to amplify voices in moments of crisis, challenge historical erasure, and insist on the dignity and agency of those whose stories might otherwise be silenced.

Alongside these urgent documentaries, narrative films of 2025 have captured intimate, everyday struggles, resilience, and the quiet power of human connection.

Collectively, these films underscore 2025 as a year when cinema reclaimed its role as witness, storyteller, and conduit for empathy — particularly in regions affected by conflict, colonial legacies, and social upheaval.

Here are some of our top picks of films that premiered or had a cinema release in 2025, drawn from reviews and interviews in our film section:

All That's Left of You

Palestinian-American filmmaker Cherien Dabis' All That's Left of You is an epic, intergenerational project about a family's survival from the Nakba to today. A powerful result of that three-year effort, it is a tale that goes back and forth in time as a Palestinian mother recounts the devastating events of terrorism, ethnic cleansing and occupation that led to her teenage son being confronted by Israeli soldiers.

After screening to widespread acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, it's set to be distributed around the world, at a time when violence continues to be enacted by the Israeli regime against men, women and children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

"When I started writing this, I had no idea that all of this was going to happen and that the film was going to become that much more critical for the world to see," Cherien told The New Arab in an interview.

"So I was focused on what I can do right now rather than how helpless I feel watching these images and being unable to stop it."

Flana

Flana is a deeply personal and powerful documentary by Iraqi filmmaker Zahraa Ghandour that explores the erasure and disappearance of women and girls in Iraq. Sparked by the mysterious disappearance of her childhood friend Nour, the film intertwines Zahraa's own memories with broader social realities — from early marriage and honour crimes to legal systems that devalue female lives.

Through intimate conversations with her aunt Hayat, a midwife, and encounters with survivors like Leila, Flana reveals how girls are often marginalised, uncelebrated at birth, abandoned, or forgotten entirely within patriarchal and tribal structures. 

"Whenever a girl is murdered, the first question people ask is: 'What did she do?' There is nothing a girl can do that justifies being murdered," Zahraa told The New Arab ​​​​​​in an interview. 

Presented at major festivals, such as the Horizons of Arab Cinema competition at the Cairo International Film Festival, Flana probes how women's identities are erased, and it took more than six years to bring the film to life, resisting external pressure to shape it into activism-style protest footage and instead preserving its intimate narrative focus. The result is a haunting reflection on collective trauma, resilience, and the persistent struggle for female visibility in Iraq. 

Palestine 36

Palestine 36 is a bold historical drama by veteran Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir that revisits the 1936 Palestinian uprising against British colonial rule, a moment rarely explored in mainstream cinema.

Serving as Palestine's official submission for Best International Feature at the 2026 Academy Awards, the film blends personal narratives with sweeping historical detail and archival footage.

Set against the backdrop of resistance and general strike, Palestine 36 foregrounds stories of everyday Palestinians confronting colonial violence while linking past struggles to contemporary realities. 

"Yes, we are still in a colonial moment… People always use this term 'postcolonialism,’ and it mystifies me. I wish there were postcolonialism, but no, we're still in that moment," Annemarie told The New Arab ​​​​​​in an interview. 

By focusing on historical memory rather than conventional narratives, Palestine 36 challenges colonial erasure and reclaims a suppressed chapter of Palestinian history, reminding audiences that the legacies of resistance continue to echo in the present day. 

The Mission

The Mission follows British-Iraqi surgeon Dr Mohammed Tahir during his work in Gaza's overwhelmed hospitals, capturing the brutal reality of wartime medical care as casualties flood in and healthcare facilities collapse due to Israel's genocide. 

In the documentary, Mohammed and his team treat severe injuries — including shrapnel and bomb wounds — amid relentless conflict, often pushing nurses to set aside cameras and focus on lifesaving efforts. The film confronts viewers with the human cost of war and the emotional toll on medical staff, offering an unfiltered window into the suffering facing Palestinians under bombardment. 

"How many more dead people with their children dismembered or beheaded, burned, or limbless children must this world see for them to wake up and take action?" Dr Mohammed Tahir told The New Arab in an interview. 

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The Voice of Hind Rajab

Kaouther Ben Hania's The Voice of Hind Rajab is a searing docu-dramatic film that reconstructs the harrowing last hours of five-year-old Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces during the genocide. 

The narrative unfolds largely from the cramped Red Crescent call-centre, where emergency dispatchers scramble to coordinate her rescue after she phones for help, blending actors' performances with the real audio of Hind's terrified voice.

This restraint in visual violence, paired with the relentless tension of failed rescue efforts, delivers a visceral emotional impact that keeps the viewer focused on the human drama rather than spectacle. 

Through its 90-minute runtime, the film exposes the psychological toll on Red Crescent volunteers caught between bureaucracy and hope, using moments of dialogue and silence to dramatise the futility and heartbreak of outreach in a besieged land.

The final scenes — grounded in the factual discovery of Hind's body and those of her family and would-be rescuers — turn the narrative into a powerful testament to the inhumanity of conflict and the fragility of life.

Praised at festivals and anchored by real sound recordings, The Voice of Hind Rajab stands as a poignant cinematic record of both individual suffering and systemic failure in the Gaza genocide.

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Calle Málaga

Calle Málaga is Morocco's official submission for Best International Feature at the Oscars, anchored by a standout performance from Spanish screen icon Carmen Maura.

Directed by Maryam Touzani with nuance and emotional precision, the film follows the lives of residents along a vibrant street in Malaga as they navigate the complexities of identity, migration and intergenerational bonds.

The film's blend of social realism and intimate character work draws attention to how ordinary moments — a shared meal, a whispered confession, a small act of kindness — accumulate into something deeply human amid broader societal tensions.

By focusing on everyday lives rather than overt political spectacle, Calle Málaga invites audiences to reflect on belonging, memory and resilience, making it a compelling and richly textured entry into both Moroccan cinema and the awards season conversation.

Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Just two days after the Cannes ACID selection of Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk was announced, its protagonist – 25-year-old Palestinian photographer and activist Fatma "Fatem" Hassona – was killed along with her entire family by an Israeli missile that struck their home in Gaza.

The film, directed by Sepideh Farsi, now stands as both a powerful cinematic collaboration and a heartbreaking memorial.

Over a year, Sepideh and Fatem stayed connected through voice notes, video calls, and fragments of everyday life shared across borders. Fatem, living under constant bombardment, became Farsi’s eyes in Gaza; Farsi, in turn, became her link to the outside world. Shot entirely through this remote exchange, the documentary captures Fatem's courage, pain, resilience, and luminous presence.

“Her resilience, her humility, and her pride were real lessons for me,” Sepideh shared with The New Arab in an interview.

"She never ever complained. It was amazing how strong she could still be and how hopeful. She told me: 'This war will end. We will be free.’ And I was always amazed at her capacity to keep that hope." 

With Hasan in Gaza

A poignant documentary by Palestinian filmmaker Kamal Aljafari, With Hasan in Gaza, reconstructs a Gaza that was once alive but is now largely erased.

The film was born when Kamal rediscovered three forgotten MiniDV tapes shot in 2001, containing grainy, intimate footage of everyday life in Gaza before Israel's ongoing siege and genocide.

"It's a film about what was erased, but also about what refuses to be erased," Kamal told The New Arab in an interview. 

Rather than staging new scenes, he assembled the raw material almost as it was found — faces of children, domestic moments, and quiet streets — creating a time capsule that captures a place and people who may no longer exist in the same way today. 

Kamal also interweaves his own personal history — including his teenage detention and search for friends long lost — to highlight how individual and collective memory converge in With Hasan in Gaza, making the film both a tribute and a warning about erasure. 

A Sad and Beautiful World

Lebanese filmmaker Cyril Aris brought his debut narrative feature A Sad and Beautiful World to international audiences with its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, following a successful festival run that included winning the People's Choice Award at the Venice Film Festival.

The 2025 romantic drama, set in Beirut and starring Mounia Akl and Hasan Akil, follows childhood sweethearts Nino and Yasmina as they reunite in adulthood, posing profound questions about how to preserve beauty and hold onto hope amid Lebanon's social and political turmoil. 

Despite challenges during production — including regional instability and looming threats of violence — Cyril persisted in making a film about resilience, identity and emotional connection, underscoring how cinema can be a way to assert cultural existence and foster empathy across cultures. 

"I believe creating art, as naive and insignificant as it may seem, is a way of fighting back, proving our existence and re-asserting our culture," Cyril Aris told The New Arab about making A Sad and Beautiful World.

Sudan, Remember Us

Sudan, Remember Us is a compelling documentary by Franco-Tunisian filmmaker Hind Meddeb that honours the youth of Sudan's 2018–19 uprising, portraying their struggle for dignity, freedom and change.

Filmed in the aftermath of revolution, the documentary blends archival footage with new recordings, capturing the raw energy of mass protests, the pain of loss, and the unbroken determination of a generation that took to the streets to demand a better future.

Hind's film foregrounds the voices and testimonies of young Sudanese activists, emphasising personal stories alongside the collective pulse of resistance.

"This film is a tribute to the resilience of Sudanese youth and a reminder that their voices must not be forgotten," Hind told The New Arab.

Through its intimate lens, Sudan, Remember Us underscores how art and cinema can preserve memory, convey hope, and bear witness to movements that reshape nations — reminding audiences that the fight for justice and dignity persists despite setbacks.

Roqia

Yanis Koussim's debut feature Roqia is a haunting horror drama that uses genre storytelling to confront the lingering trauma of Algeria's 'Black Decade' — the brutal civil conflict of the 1990s.

Rather than relying on conventional supernatural scares, the film blends memory, amnesia and menace to depict how violence seeps into ordinary lives, with fragmented narratives spanning past and present to illustrate the psychological impact of extremist brutality on individuals and communities. 

The film interweaves three distinct story strands — an ageing exorcist battling Alzheimer's, a man returning to his village with no memory of his past, and a pregnant woman navigating a present shaped by terror — to show how forgetting and remembering are both perilous in the face of unresolved trauma.

Through its tense, claustrophobic style and refusal to shy away from past horrors, Roqia argues that facing the unhealed wounds of history is essential, turning horror into a metaphor for collective memory and survival.

Promised Sky

Erige Sehiri's Promised Sky is a quietly powerful 2025 drama that premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, centring on the intertwined lives of Sub‑Saharan migrant women in Tunis.

Set in a Tunisia rarely depicted on screen, the film avoids familiar landmarks in favour of compressed, liminal spaces — cramped apartments, makeshift churches and improvised nightclubs — reflecting how the characters' lives unfold in the shadows of belonging and exclusion.

Erige's camera emphasises emotional intimacy and survival under pressure, challenging audiences to consider how ordinary lives persist amid social hostility and xenophobia, and revealing the unfulfilled promises faced by those living between borders and identities.

It Was Just an Accident

Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident marks the Iranian master's triumphant return, winning the 2025 Cannes Palme d'Or with a minimalist, morally probing drama that questions perception, human complexity and the cinematic gaze.

Shot under repression and shot in secret, the film blends political resistance with a deceptively simple premise that unfolds into a deeper exploration of justice, empathy and the resilience of storytelling.

Once Upon a Time in Gaza

Once Upon a Time in Gaza is an inventive 2025 Palestinian film by brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser that blends classic genre influences with a deeply rooted political and cultural narrative.

Premiering in the Un Certain Regard section at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, the film won the Best Directing Award to critical acclaim, marking another major milestone in the Nasser brothers' international career.

Inspired by 1960s Spaghetti Westerns, the story centres on three main characters in Gaza in 2007, exploring friendship, survival and the absurdity of resistance under blockade. 

Filmed in Jordan amid ongoing conflict, the project represents a continuation of the siblings' commitment to telling stories about daily life in Gaza, connecting cinematic form with lived reality and cultural survival. 

"Weapons are one type of resistance. But ultimately, all of Gaza, all Palestinians there, resist," Arab Nasser told The New Arab in an interview.

"They never give up, never surrender. They always continue, and they will continue until they get their rights back."

The President's Cake

The President's Cake is the acclaimed debut feature by Iraqi filmmaker Hasan Hadi, which drew global attention at the 78th Cannes Film Festival when it premiered in the Directors' Fortnight and won both the Audience Award and the prestigious Caméra d'Or for best first feature.

The film tells the story of nine‑year‑old Lamia and her quest to gather ingredients to bake a cake for Saddam Hussein's birthday during the harsh sanctions and authoritarian rule of 1990s Iraq. Through her eyes — alongside those of her grandmother — the narrative blends humour and poignancy to reveal how ordinary people coped with scarcity and fear during a turbulent period in Iraqi history. 

Its success at Cannes has positioned it as a landmark in Iraqi cinema and helped secure a global distribution deal, raising hopes that it may also compete in the 2026 Oscars international feature category.

Aisha Can't Fly

Egyptian filmmaker Morad Mostafa brought a striking new perspective to the screen with his debut feature Aisha Can't Fly Away, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.

Set in the working‑class Cairo district of Ain Shams, the drama follows Aisha, a young Sudanese migrant and caregiver, as she navigates life in a neighbourhood where African migrant communities often exist on the margins. Through her interactions with employers, local gangs and the broader community, the film exposes the social pressures, isolation and complex power dynamics that shape her daily reality, offering a humanised depiction of a figure usually relegated to the background in Egyptian cinema. 

The narrative weaves realism with moments of symbolic imagery, such as the presence of an ostrich that reflects Aisha's inner struggle and sense of entrapment. Aisha Can't Fly Away thus becomes both a social commentary and an intimate portrait, challenging audiences to see Cairo not only through Egyptian eyes but through those of the "anonymous souls" whose stories too often go unheard. 

Life After Siham

A deeply personal and reflective documentary by Egyptian‑French filmmaker Namir Abdel Messeeh, Life After Siham,  emerged from the grief of losing his mother and the instinct to film her in her final moments.

What began as a raw attempt to document his mother's funeral evolved over more than a decade into a layered exploration of memory, family, loss and identity, blending intimate footage of his parents with classic Egyptian cinema references — notably the work of Youssef Chahine — to recreate moments the camera could not capture directly. 

The film, which premiered in the ACID programme at the 78th Cannes Film Festival and has since played at major festivals including Cairo and Marrakech, places personal mourning within broader contexts of exile, love and belonging.

Yunan

Ameer Fakher Eldin's Yunan is a contemplative 2025 drama that premiered in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival.

It follows Munir, an Arab writer in emotional exile, who retreats to a remote Baltic Sea island while grappling with loss, identity, and the emptiness left by displacement. The film unfolds in long, meditative sequences in which silence, nature, and chance encounters gently peel back Munir's mistrust and rekindle his will to live, turning his personal crisis into a universal meditation on estrangement and rebirth.

"Exile, in essence, isn't about a specific place or event… It's about what happens when everything familiar falls away," Ameer had told The New Arab ​​​​​​in an interview. 

The Encampments

A timely 2025 documentary by directors Michael T. Workman and Kei Pritsker, The Encampments chronicles the student‑led protests at Columbia University in spring 2024, which grew into a broader global movement of solidarity with Palestine.

Rather than echoing media soundbites that branded the encampments as "radical" or "extreme," the film captures the everyday reality inside the protest — students educating one another, singing, organising teach‑ins, and demanding divestment from companies linked to war and the weapons industry. 

The documentary centres on key figures like Palestinian graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, whose detention by ICE highlights the wider consequences of dissent, and other student organisers who articulate why they risked arrest and deportation.

The Encampments also traces how repression by police and university authorities — from militarised NYPD interventions to tight security measures — only intensified the movement, helping shift public consciousness around Palestine and the right to protest on university campuses and beyond.