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This past March, a pair of non-fiction films examining the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 attacks reached theaters within days of each other. The first, named “October 8”, centered on the “rise in antisemitism” on college campuses, on social media and on the public spaces” after militants took the lives of over 1,200 individuals in southern Israel, most of them civilians. This documentary, executive-produced by a prominent celebrity, was broadly distributed by an independent distribution studio that has also managed a Trump biopic and a Jamal Khashoggi documentary. Marketing for the film occurred on popular TV shows, and it ultimately earned more than $1.3 million in the United States, a significant sum for a documentary with political themes.

The other film, The Encampments, encountered greater obstacles. A documentary on student demonstrations against Israel’s retaliatory destruction of the Gaza Strip, partly centered on protest organizer Mahmoud Khalil – who was later detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for his advocacy – got no celebrity morning show promotion. Its specialty release at a New York theater led to intimidation attempts, an act of property damage in the cinema entrance and removal of ads online. That it was able to premiere – and made $80,000 in its debut weekend, a significant win for the independent film market – is due to a new distribution company, an emerging, Palestinian-American founded film-financing and -distribution company started by siblings the Ali brothers to help films with Palestinian perspectives reach audiences they otherwise would not, in a industry that has otherwise ignored or deprioritized them.

‘A chilling effect’: is Hollywood too scared to touch hot-button documentaries?

The two documentaries demonstrate the different landscapes for Israeli and Palestinian narratives in the United States – one concentrated and frequently supported by established organizations, the second more fragmented and more ad hoc, yet expanding. The two-year anniversary of the 7 October attacks highlights this disparity even more – recently saw the selective premiere of The Road Between Us, a documentary tracking a retired Israeli general’s mission to rescue his family members from Hamas forces on October 7th. A compelling Taken-like tale of survival, trauma and mourning that omits the subsequent fatalities of at least 66,000 people in Gaza in response, The Road Between Us received endorsement from celebrities and received the audience choice prize for best documentary at a major film festival. US distribution rights were rapidly acquired by a consulting firm.

It’s difficult to get any hot-button, politically challenging film financed, much less distributed in the US, particularly during the current political climate. But movies presenting Palestinian viewpoints, or films challenging the narrative of a government that has turned the horrors of October 7th into a weapon of war justifying an internationally recognized genocide in Gaza, have found it particularly difficult, occasionally unfeasible, to connect with viewers. “I’ve never made a film about Palestine that’s ever been released,” said a filmmaker, the director of a documentary titled “Coexistence, My Ass!”, a film about an Israeli comedian confronting her upbringing as “the literal poster child for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process” in the aftermath of the near-complete destruction of Gaza.

With an acclaimed festival run, the director, who is Lebanese Canadian, had hopes for a distribution deal for Coexistence, My Ass!. “We believed that there could be a possibility that the film could break through just based on the comedian’s distinct outlook – it’s such a novel approach of examining the issue,” the creator said. But deals never worked out; the production group ultimately opted for a self-release strategy starting later this month, handled by the same company that arranged another film’s self-distribution earlier this year. The other movie, a powerful non-fiction work by an Israeli-Palestinian collective about long-standing struggles to fight against occupation in a small West Bank community, won a bittersweet Oscar for best documentary; shortly after, Israeli settlers severely beat a co-director, who was then detained by military personnel allegedly mocking the prize. It remains unavailable for online viewing in the United States but earned over $2.5 million at the American theaters (making it the top-earning of the year’s Oscar-nominated docs).

‘We must act’: The firm distributing Palestinian films others avoid

A separate movie, “All That’s Left of You”, a sweeping epic on multiple generations of a Palestinian family forced from their home in 1948, also sought distribution after a successful festival appearances, but faced hesitation from distribution companies over the “subject matter”. “We had high hopes that a major distributor would come through,” said the American-Palestinian filmmaker. One conversation with an undisclosed firm concluded, according to the filmmaker, with a rejection, citing an overloaded schedule. “That is precisely what they said to another Palestinian movie that debuted recently at a film festival. It all feels like political cowardice,” she said.

The reality, according to Watermelon co-founder, is that “very few distributors exist that are going to back Palestinian cinema”. Large streaming platforms have avoided involvement. But one studio recently acquired the global streaming rights to a series called “Red Alert”, a scripted mini-series partly produced by an Israeli production fund, which portrays the 7 October Hamas attacks on the country that, per the logline, “transformed southern Israel into a conflict area, testing humanity and forging heroism through chaos”. The company leader promoted the show as evidence of the firm dedication to narrative art through creative quality and factual precision”. And another platform acquired the US rights for One Day in October, a dramatized show based on first-hand accounts of the attack that will debut on its two-year mark.

Meanwhile, “I believe a single Palestinian film has ever gotten mainstream distribution in the US”, said the filmmaker, who has since formed her own distribution company, a new company, in response to the obstacles. “No one’s really been willing to assume the chance on proving that these films could be seen widely.”

“It is regrettable that we have not received that same support,” said the co-founder. “Not a single film has been acquired by a mainstream streamer.” Nevertheless, “the industry is definitely shifting”, he said, pointing to the recent pledge signed by more than 3,900 prominent entertainment figures to not work with Israeli cinema organizations “implicated in genocide and apartheid” against Palestinians, noting: “But it seems, unfortunately, like the streamers are not joining this movement.” (A number of famous individuals were among those who signed a rebuke calling the pledge a “source of falsehoods”; several cited the country’s Oscar entry of The Sea, a movie concerning a young Palestinian who attempts to go to the seaside for the first time but is denied entry at a security post. Notably, Israel’s version of the Oscars is under threat of funding cuts after The Sea received the highest honor.)

An emerging trend of films led by Palestinians and addressing difficult topics is finally beginning to crest even without major corporate backing – the distribution company agreed to release All That’s Left of You, the official entry from Jordan to the Academy Awards, which will start its selective cinema run in January; well-known stars joined as executive producers. The company also handles Palestine’s official Oscar submission, generational epic “Palestine 36”, and is a producer on The Voice of Hind Rajab, which received critical acclaim and a significant prize at the Venice Film Festival; this movie, which recreates the death of a young child in Gaza with her actual recordings, will be distributed in Europe by a distribution partner, and has {yet to find|not