Premiere - All That’s Left of You : Cherien Dabis Presents Her Powerful Palestinian Family Epic at the Paris Premiere

By Mulder, Paris, UGC Ciné-Cité Les Halles, 05 march 2026

On March 5, 2026, the Parisian cinema UGC Ciné-Cité Les Halles hosted the French premiere of All That’s Left of You, the sweeping historical drama written, directed, and starring Cherien Dabis. The filmmaker personally attended the screening to present the film to the Paris audience, marking an important moment ahead of its French theatrical release scheduled for March 11, 2026. While the event had originally been announced as including a post-screening Q&A session with the director, the discussion ultimately did not take place, leaving many spectators slightly disappointed after what proved to be an emotionally charged viewing experience. Even without the anticipated exchange, the presence of Cherien Dabis gave the evening a special resonance, reinforcing the personal dimension of a film that has already become one of the most widely discussed international productions of the past year.

Premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2025, All That’s Left of You (original Arabic title: اللي باقي منك) quickly emerged as one of the standout works of that edition, attracting attention both for its ambitious narrative scope and for its emotional intensity. Running 146 minutes, the film unfolds as a multi-generational fresco tracing the fate of a Palestinian family from 1948 to the present day, intertwining the broader historical upheavals of the region with deeply intimate personal stories. Produced by Thanassis Karathanos, Cherien Dabis, Martin Hampel, and Karim Amer, the film brings together a strong creative team that includes cinematographer Christopher Aoun, editor Tina Baz, and composer Amine Bouhafa, whose musical score subtly reinforces the film’s shifting emotional landscapes. On screen, the story is carried by a remarkable ensemble cast featuring Saleh Bakri, Mohammad Bakri, Adam Bakri, Maria Zreik, Muhammad Abed Elrahman, Sanad Alkabareti, and Salah El Din, performers who collectively embody the different generations at the heart of the narrative.

The film’s festival journey since its Sundance debut has confirmed its impact within the international cinema landscape. After its premiere, All That’s Left of You was selected as Jordan’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, reaching the shortlist announced in December 2025. That year proved notable for the category, as three films centered on Palestinian history were submitted by different countries, including Palestine 36 and The Voice of Hind Rajab, highlighting the growing visibility of narratives from the region in global cinema. The film’s festival circuit continued throughout 2025 with significant recognition, including the Audience Award for Best International Film at the Sydney Film Festival, the Publieksprijs (Audience Award) at the Leiden International Film Festival in the Netherlands, and the Best Film award at the 8th Malaysia International Film Festival. In early 2026, it also appeared in the Awards Buzz Best International Feature Film section at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, further consolidating its reputation as one of the most acclaimed international productions of the year.

At the center of the project stands Cherien Dabis, a Palestinian-American filmmaker whose career has long explored themes of identity, diaspora, and cultural belonging. She first gained international recognition with Amreeka, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009 and later received the FIPRESCI Prize at the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, before directing May in the Summer, which opened Sundance in 2013. In the press materials accompanying All That’s Left of You, Cherien Dabis describes the film as deeply rooted in her own personal history. One of her earliest childhood memories, she recalls, dates back to a visit to Palestine when she was eight years old, when her family was detained for twelve hours at the border by Israeli soldiers. The experience, marked by fear and uncertainty, became a formative moment that shaped her understanding of identity and belonging. She also speaks about the concept of “post-memory,” a term used to describe how trauma experienced by previous generations can continue to shape the lives and emotional realities of their descendants, a thematic thread that runs throughout the film.

The film’s exploration of generational transmission is reinforced by the presence of the Bakri acting dynasty, which brings a powerful symbolic dimension to the narrative. Saleh Bakri, widely recognized for roles in films such as The Band’s Visit, Salt of This Sea, Wajib, and Le Bleu du caftan, plays the character of Salim, while his father Mohammad Bakri appears as the older Sharif. The appearance of Mohammad Bakri, who passed away on December 24, 2025, gives the film an additional layer of emotional resonance, making his performance feel almost like a cinematic farewell. A major figure in Palestinian theater and film, Mohammad Bakri was internationally known for his roles in works such as Saverio Costanzo’s Private and for directing the controversial documentary Jenin, Jenin, which examined the events of the Second Intifada. Completing the generational triangle is Adam Bakri, whose breakthrough role in Omar—a film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2014—helped introduce him to international audiences. Together, the three actors embody a family history that mirrors the broader narrative of displacement, resilience, and cultural continuity explored in the film.

The production itself was shaped by the geopolitical realities that the film depicts. Although initially planned to be shot in Palestine, the escalating war in Gaza forced the production to relocate filming to Cyprus, Greece, and Jordan, with the crew reportedly evacuating two weeks before principal photography was scheduled to begin. Rather than weakening the project, this displacement ultimately reinforced the film’s thematic focus on exile and diaspora. The international dimension of the project also expanded later in its life cycle when actors Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem joined the film as executive producers in September 2025, lending their public support to a project that had already generated significant critical praise. In statements accompanying the announcement, Mark Ruffalo described being deeply moved by the film, emphasizing the humanity with which Cherien Dabis portrays the resilience and dignity of Palestinian families living through decades of upheaval.

Narratively, All That’s Left of You spans nearly eight decades of history, from the upheaval of 1948 to contemporary times, using the intimate framework of a single family to explore broader questions of memory, identity, and resilience. According to Cherien Dabis, the choice to focus on individual lives rather than overt political discourse was deliberate. Her goal, she explains in interviews, was to allow audiences to connect emotionally with the characters rather than approach the story through ideological frameworks. By placing human faces and personal relationships at the center of a historical narrative often reduced to statistics and headlines, the film attempts to restore a sense of lived experience to a complex and frequently polarized subject.

Following its North American release strategy, which included an Oscar-qualifying run in Los Angeles beginning on November 28, 2025, followed by a limited theatrical expansion on January 9, 2026, the film is now preparing to reach French audiences under the title Ce qu’il reste de nous. Distributed in France by Nour Films, the feature arrives in cinemas on March 11, 2026, at a moment when discussions about historical memory, representation, and the role of cinema in documenting collective trauma remain particularly prominent in cultural discourse. Judging by the emotional reactions observed during the Paris premiere screening, All That’s Left of You appears poised to leave a lasting impression on audiences beyond the festival circuit, confirming Cherien Dabis as one of the most compelling voices currently working in international cinema.

Synopsis : 
From 1948 to the present day, three generations of a Palestinian family carry the hopes and wounds of a people. A fresco where history and intimacy meet.

All That's Left of You
Written and directed by Cherien Dabis
Produced by Thanassis Karathanos, Cherien Dabis, Martin Hampel, Karim Amer
Starring  Saleh Bakri, Cherien Dabis, Mohammad Bakri, Adam Bakri, Maria Zreik, Muhammad Abed Elrahman, Sanad Alkabareti, Salah El Din
Cinematography : Christopher Aoun
Edited by Tina Baz
Music by Amine Bouhafa
Production companies : Pallas Film, Displaced Pictures, Nooraluna Productions, Twenty Twenty Vision, AMP Filmworks, ZDF, Arte
Distributed by Watermelon Pictures (United States), Nour Films (France)
Release dates : 25 January 2025 (Sundance), January 5, 2026 (United States), March 11,2026 (France)
Running time : 146 minutes

Photos and video : Boris Colletier / Mulderville