Palestinians have long rendered their plight into powerful pieces of art, demanding that people understand not just the facts, but the hearts, behind a struggle that has for so long been overly represented by their occupiers.

Palestinian filmmakers have broken out of the shackles of restrictions to movement and an all-round daily struggle to make films about their hometowns. And they do it with great skill, adeptly making their way to the most prestigious international film festivals.

Here are six films directed by Palestinians that were huge hits internationally:

1. “Wedding in Galilee” by Michel Khleifi, 1987

The film won the International Critics Prize at the 1987 Cannes International Film Festival. It was also granted the Golden Shell award at the 1987 San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain.

“Wedding in Galilee” revolves around a Palestinian mayor’s efforts to celebrate his son’s wedding in spite of an Israeli-imposed curfew imposed by Israeli authorities.

2. “Chronicle of a Disappearance”  by Elia Suleiman, 1996

Starring the director himself, along with his relatives and other non-actors, the film won the Best First Film Prize at the 1996 Venice Film Festival.

3. “Divine Intervention” by Elia Suleiman, 2002

At the 2002 Cannes International Film Festival, the film won the Jury Prize, along with the FIPRESCI Competition Prize “for its sensitive, amusing and innovative vision of a complex and topical situation and the tragic consequences that result from it”. It was also nominated for the prestigious Palm D’or award.

“Divine Intervention” was granted the Special Jury Prize at the 2002 Chicago Film Festival and the Screen International Award at the 2002 European Film Award.

The dark comedy was filmed in Palestine and tells the story of a love affair between two people separated by an Israeli checkpoint. It sparked controversy ahead of the 2003 Oscars, when it was allegedly deemed illegible for the Best Foreign Language Film category for emerging from a country not officially recognized by the United Nations.

It is best known for a scene depicting the lovers twiddling thumbs near a checkpoint, and was viewed as the symbol of a generation with passions bubbling up underneath heavy repression.

4. “Like Twenty Impossibles” by Annemarie Jacir, 2003

It was the first-ever Arab short film to be an Official Selection at the Cannes International Film Festival and Jacir was the first female Palestinian film director to walk the festival’s red carpet.

Among the multiple awards the film won are the Best Film award at the Palm Spring Festival of Film Shorts in 2003 and the Silver Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival.

With a visual poem and a narrative, the movie reveals the brutality of Israel’s military occupation.

5. “Paradise Now” by Hany Abu-Assad, 2005

The film won a Golden Globe award for best foreign language film in 2006 and was the firstPalestinian movie to be nominated for an Oscar. It won several awards internationally, including three awards the at 2005 Berlin International Film Festival and the European Film Award for the best screenwriter.

Shot in Palestine and co-written by Abu-Assad and Netherlands’ Bero Beyer, the film tells the story of two childhood friends who were recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

6. “Omar” by Hany Abu-Assad, 2013

At the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival, the film won the Special Jury Prize, which is considered a recognition of innovative and daring works. It was also chosen as the Best Feature Film at the 2013 Asian Pacific Screen Awards. It won the Norwegian Peace Film Award at the Tromso International Film Festival and the Youth Jury Best Film award at Ghent International Film Festival.

“Omar” was among the five finalists for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in 2014.

The film, shot in Palestine, tells the story of a Palestinian lover who is imprisoned by the Israeli authorities after killing an Israeli soldier during an attack he staged with his friends on an Israeli checkpoint.