Palestinian Political Prisoners Film List

Key films to watch for Prisoners Day 2026.

• Imprisoning a Generation 

• Imprisoning a Generation is a feature-length documentary film following the stories of four young Palestinians who have been detained and imprisoned under the Israeli military and political systems. Their perspectives, along with the voices of their families, form a lens into the entangled structures of oppression that expand well beyond the prison walls.
• Watch for free via: https://www.anemoia.net/imprisoningageneration/watch

• Letters from a Palestinian Prisoner
  • Mohammed and his daughter face the emotional fallout of his political activism in Gaza and imprisonment in Israel, which left her to grow up without him. A fractured family tries to heal itself across borders and generations. Palestinian Mohammed Dahman, from Gaza, served nearly 20 years in Israeli jails when he was younger. This powerful observational film follows Mohammed and his daughter, Mai, as they confront the emotional scars left by his years of absence, both in jail and as a political activist. Now living in Norway, Mohammed fears growing old far from Gaza and sets out to retrieve the prison letters he once sent home, hoping they might help repair his strained relationship with Mai. His visit back to Gaza stirs memories of political struggle, friendship and sacrifice, while Mai in Norway grapples with the resentment of a childhood without him. When he finally returns, father and daughter face the painful truths of the past as they read the letters together – moments of love, regret and longing preserved on paper. Their story culminates in a quiet but hopeful attempt at reconciliation, captured in the small, tender moments of family life.
  • Watch for free via YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXex7G_mT4M

• Ghost Hunting (2017)
  • In order to confront the ghosts that haunt him, Palestinian director Raed Andoni assembles an eclectic group of ex-prisoners to build a replicate of Al-Moskobiya, Israel’s main interrogation centre, where he was himself jailed at age 18. From fragmentary memory, day after day, they give shape to the interrogation centre they all experienced, and re-enact its stories. As the walls of the cells rise, the tongues and the emotions loosen.
  • Available for rent via Vimeo for $4 AUD: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ghosthuntingvod
• 3000 Nights (2015)
  • Palestinian filmmaker Mai Masri’s stunning feature debut is inspired by a true story and shot in a real prison. 3000 NIGHTS traces a young mother’s journey of hope, resilience and survival against all odds. Accused of helping a teenage boy on the run, Layal, a newlywed Palestinian schoolteacher, finds herself incarcerated in a top security prison for Palestinian and Israeli women. After Layal discovers that she is pregnant, the prison director pressures her to get an abortion and spy on the Palestinian inmates. Terrified but defiant, she gives birth to her child in chains. Through her struggle to raise her son behind bars, Layal manages to find a sense of hope and meaning to her life. When prison conditions deteriorate and the Palestinian prisoners decide to strike, the prison director warns her against joining the strike and threatens to take her child away. In a moment of truth, Layal is forced to make a choice that will forever change her life.
  • Available for free via Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBb01SfJtSg

• Beyond the Walls (2012)
  • Al Jazeera follow Palestinians released from Israeli jails as they attempt to adapt to their new lives outside.
  • https://www.aljazeera.com/video/al-jazeera-world/2012/8/1/beyond-the-walls
    
• Gaza: Israeli Prison Hell 
  • Mass arrests, enforced disappearances, arbitrary imprisonment without charge or trial, widespread torture, and inhuman and degrading treatment: Reports from numerous international bodies, including various UN agencies and NGOs, document the torture and inhuman conditions inflicted on Palestinians held in Israeli detention since 7 October 2023.
  • https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/121620-116-A/gaza-israeli-prison-hell/
    
• Freedom Breakers 
  • Freedom has a story, and it demands to be told. This is Freedom Breakers – our powerful new video series with stories of pain, strength, steadfastness and defiance. Journalist and former political prisoner Lama Ghosheh explores the confines and meanings of freedom and imprisonment with recently freed Palestinian prisoners. Their voices have been silenced for too long—it’s time to listen. Watch now: 
  • https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHTXa06HVywKcjELQgYK2MTKEST5ZojX1&si=6DjOVVcJW2xRME82
    
• Detaining Dreams
  • Detaining Dreams features the stories of four Palestinian children arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and prosecuted in the Israeli military detention system. From the moment of arrest, Palestinian children encounter ill-treatment and torture at the hands of Israeli forces. Three out of four experience physical violence during arrest or interrogation. Watch the documentary on Youtube now:
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rw69pLILqw