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In March of this year, a pair of documentaries exploring the consequences of the 7 October 2023 attacks reached theaters within days of each other. One, titled October 8, focused on the “rise in antisemitism” on university grounds, on online platforms and on the public spaces” after Hamas forces took the lives of over 1,200 individuals in southern Israel, most of them civilians. The film, produced by a prominent celebrity, was broadly distributed by an independent film company that has also managed a film about Donald Trump and a Jamal Khashoggi documentary. Marketing for the film occurred on popular TV shows, and it ultimately earned more than $1.3m in the United States, a high total for a documentary with political themes.

Meanwhile, the second documentary, “The Encampments”, encountered greater obstacles. This film examines campus protests against Israel’s retaliatory destruction of the Gaza Strip, focusing in part on activist Mahmoud Khalil – who was later taken into custody by federal authorities for his advocacy – got no support from famous TV hosts. Its limited theatrical run at a NYC cinema led to intimidation attempts, an incident of vandalism in the theater’s lobby and removal of ads online. That it was released at all – and earned $80,000 in its opening weekend, a significant win for the specialty box office – is due to a new distribution company, an emerging, Palestinian-American founded film funding and release firm started by siblings the Ali brothers to help films with Palestinian perspectives find viewers they otherwise would not, in a industry that has historically overlooked or marginalized such stories.

Is a ‘chilling effect’ preventing Hollywood from tackling controversial documentaries?

These two films evince the distinct environments for stories from Israel and Palestine in the US – one concentrated and often backed by established organizations, the second more fragmented and less organized, yet expanding. The second anniversary of the October 7th events throws the contrast into sharper relief – recently saw the limited release 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 thriller-like story 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 prestigious cinema event. American release rights were rapidly acquired by a media company.

It is challenging to get any hot-button, politically challenging film financed, let alone released in the US, particularly during the current political climate. But films featuring Palestinian perspectives, or films challenging the narrative of a authority that has turned the horrors of 7 October into a tool for conflict defending an internationally recognized genocide in Gaza, have found it especially challenging, sometimes impossible, to connect with viewers. “I have never produced a film about Palestine that’s ever been distributed,” said a filmmaker, the director of a documentary titled “Coexistence, My Ass!”, a film about an comedian from Israel reexamining her past as “the literal poster child for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process” in the aftermath of the widespread devastation of the territory.

With an acclaimed festival run, the filmmaker, who is Lebanese Canadian, had aspirations for a distribution deal for Coexistence, My Ass!. “We believed that there could be a possibility that the film could succeed just based on the subject’s distinct outlook – it’s such a novel approach of examining the situation,” the director said. But deals never worked out; the production group finally chose a self-release strategy beginning soon, managed by the identical firm that arranged another film’s self-release recently. The other movie, a searing documentary 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 violently attacked a co-director, who was then arrested by military personnel reportedly ridiculing the prize. It remains unavailable for online viewing in the United States but earned over $2.5 million at the US box office (making it the top-earning of the year’s Oscar-nominated docs).

‘We need to do something’: the company releasing Palestinian films no one else will

Another film, All That’s Left of You, a sweeping epic on three generations of a family from Palestine forced from their home in 1948, also sought distribution after a strong festival run, but faced hesitation from distribution companies over the “content theme”. “We had high hopes that one mainstream distributor would come through,” said the Palestinian American director. One conversation with an undisclosed firm concluded, according to the director, with a pass, referencing too many films. “That’s exactly what they told another Palestinian film that debuted recently at a film festival. It seems like political cowardice,” she said.

The reality, according to Watermelon co-founder, is that “very few distributors exist that are going to support Palestinian films”. Major streaming companies have avoided involvement. But one studio recently purchased the global streaming rights to Red Alert, a scripted mini-series produced in part by an Israeli production fund, which depicts the October 7th events on Israel that, according to the description, “transformed southern Israel into a conflict area, testing humanity and creating heroes through chaos”. The company leader promoted the show as evidence of the firm dedication to storytelling through creative quality and accuracy”. And a different service acquired the American rights for “One Day in October”, a dramatized show based on eyewitness stories of the incident that will debut on its two-year mark.

At the same time, “I don’t think a single Palestinian film has ever gotten mainstream distribution in the US”, said the director, who has recently established her own release firm, Visibility Films, in wake of the obstacles. “No one’s really been willing to assume the chance on proving that these films could be seen widely.”

“It’s unfortunate that we have not received that same support,” said the co-founder. “Not a single film has been acquired by a major streaming service.” Nevertheless, “the sector is clearly changing”, he said, referencing 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 the Palestinian people, noting: “However, it appears, sadly, like the streamers are not joining this movement.” (A number of famous individuals were among those who signed a rebuke labeling the commitment a “document of misinformation”; several cited the country’s Oscar entry of a film titled “The Sea”, a film about a Palestinian boy who attempts to go to the beach for the first time but is refused access at a checkpoint. Notably, Israel’s version of the Oscars is facing government defunding after the film won the top prize.)

A new wave 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 the aforementioned epic, the official entry from Jordan to the Academy Awards, which will begin its limited theatrical release in the coming year; prominent actors came on board as producers. The company also represents Palestine’s official Oscar submission, generational epic “Palestine 36”, and is executive producer on another documentary, which drew rave reviews and a significant prize at the Venice Film Festival; that film, which recreates the death of a five-year-old girl in the region with her actual recordings, will be released across Europe by a sales company, and has {yet to find|not