Cutting Through Rocks and The Voice of Hind Rajab join the Oscar nominations.
Lights, cameras, Oscars. The Oscar nominations for the 98th Academy Awards have been announced. Whether you love the gowns, guests or gongs, there is no award ceremony quite like the Academy Awards. The awards will take place on Sunday, 15 March, in Los Angeles and will be hosted by the comedian Conan O’Brien.
The favourites for the Academy Awards include Sinners, with a record 16 nominations. Sinners is a horror film by Ryan Coogler, set in 1930s Mississippi, and it stars Michael B. Jordan. Other notable nominees include Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another and Sentimental Value.
The Middle East also has a presence at the Oscars. For the 2026 awards, the Best International Feature Film category includes Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, which follows a six-year-old who gets trapped in war-torn Gaza. The Best Documentary Feature Film category includes Cutting Through Rocks by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, which follows the first female councillor in an Iranian village.
Over the years, Arab cinema has been recognised at the Academy Awards. The first Arab actor to be nominated for an Oscar was the Egyptian actor Omar Sharif. In 1963, he was shortlisted for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Lawrence of Arabia. It then took until 2019 for an Arab actor to win an Oscar: American-Egyptian actor Rami Malek won the Best Actor award for Bohemian Rhapsody.
In 2014, Saudi Arabia made history when it submitted its first film to the Academy and gained a nomination for Wadjda. Furthermore, in 2019, Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki became the first Arab female film director to be nominated for an Oscar.
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GO: Visit www.oscars.org for more information.