Palestinian Unwanted
Omar Shargawi / Denmark & Jordan / 2026 / World Premiere / 73 min
During the disaster in Gaza, a Danish-Palestinian film director attempts to raise awareness among the Danish public, while struggling to keep himself together. A deeply personal film with a mission.
‘Palestinian Unwanted’ takes place after 7 October 2023 and the ongoing catastrophe in Gaza – a reality unfolding on screen, accompanied by broad political support in the West. Told from the personal perspective of Danish-Palestinian film director Omar Shargawi, we follow his involvement in the Palestinian movement in Denmark. Together with other activists, he confronts politicians and the media and turns his attention to Denmark’s role – from political support and arms exports to a public discourse characterised by silence, one-sidedness and the demonisation of Palestinians.
The film also goes back to the Nakba in 1948, where the director’s family and surviving witnesses connect the past and the present. Through their stories, a picture emerges of a continuing history of loss, exile and displacement. Between the personal and the geopolitical, the film depicts a longing for a homeland that lives on in memory but is disappearing in reality. Palestinian Unwanted is a documentary about belonging, destruction and responsibility – and about the question: Where do you belong when your homeland is destroyed? A deeply personal film created out of grief, powerlessness and anger.