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This past March, two documentaries exploring the consequences of the 7 October 2023 events arrived in theaters within days of each other. The first, titled “October 8”, focused on the “emergence of antisemitism on college campuses, on social media and on the streets” after militants took the lives of over 1,200 individuals in Israel’s southern region, the majority being non-combatants. This documentary, produced by a well-known actress, was widely released by an independent distribution studio that has also managed a Trump biopic and a Jamal Khashoggi documentary. Marketing for the film took place on popular TV shows, and it eventually earned more than $1.3 million domestically, a high total for a documentary with political themes.

Meanwhile, the second documentary, “The Encampments”, faced a tougher road. A documentary on student demonstrations 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 – received no celebrity morning show promotion. Its limited theatrical run at a New York theater led to threats of violence, an act of property damage in the theater’s lobby and social media censorship. That it was released at all – and earned $80,000 in its debut weekend, a notable achievement for the specialty box office – is due to a new distribution company, an upstart, Palestinian-American founded film-financing and -distribution company started by brothers Hamza and Badie Ali to support movies presenting Palestinian views find viewers they typically cannot, 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 distinct environments for stories from Israel and Palestine in the US – one concentrated and often backed by established organizations, the other fractured and less organized, yet growing. The second 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 son’s family from militants on October 7th. A compelling thriller-like story of endurance, pain and grief that omits the subsequent fatalities of at least 66,000 people in Gaza in retaliation, The Road Between Us received endorsement from well-known figures and received the audience choice prize for best documentary at a major film festival. American release rights were rapidly acquired by a media company.

It is challenging to get any hot-button, politically challenging film financed, much less distributed in the US, particularly during the second Trump administration. But films featuring Palestinian perspectives, or films challenging the narrative of a government that has used the tragedies of 7 October into a weapon of war defending an internationally recognized genocide in Gaza, have found it particularly difficult, sometimes impossible, to reach audiences. “I have never produced a film about Palestine that’s ever been distributed,” said one director, the creator behind a documentary titled “Coexistence, My Ass!”, a documentary about an comedian from Israel reexamining her past as “the symbolic figure for the peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians” in the wake of the near-complete destruction of Gaza.

After a successful festival circuit, the director, who is of Lebanese and Canadian descent, had aspirations for a release agreement for their documentary. “We thought that there could be a possibility that Coexistence could break through just based on the comedian’s distinct outlook – it’s such a novel approach of examining the situation,” the director said. But deals never worked out; the production group ultimately opted for a independent distribution plan beginning soon, managed by the same company that orchestrated another film’s self-distribution recently. The other movie, a powerful non-fiction work by an Israeli-Palestinian collective about long-standing struggles to resist occupation in a small West Bank community, won a Oscar award under difficult circumstances for outstanding documentary; shortly after, Israeli settlers violently attacked a film-maker, who was then arrested by soldiers reportedly ridiculing the prize. It’s still not available for online viewing in the US but earned over $2.5 million at the US box office (making it the highest grossing of the year’s Oscar-nominated docs).

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

Another film, “All That’s Left of You”, a grand narrative on multiple generations of a Palestinian family forced from their home in 1948, also sought distribution after a strong festival run, but ran into concern from distributors over the “subject matter”. “We were optimistic that one mainstream distributor would come through,” said the Palestinian American director. A discussion with an unnamed company concluded, according to the director, with a pass, referencing an overloaded schedule. “That is precisely what they said to another Palestinian movie that more recently premiered at a festival. It seems like political cowardice,” she said.

The truth, according to Watermelon co-founder, is that “very few distributors exist that are going to back Palestinian cinema”. Major streaming companies have avoided involvement. But a prominent studio recently purchased the international streaming rights to Red Alert, a scripted mini-series produced in part by an Israeli production fund, which portrays the 7 October Hamas attacks on the country that, according to the description, “transformed southern Israel into a conflict area, challenging human decency and forging heroism through chaos”. The company leader promoted the show as evidence of the company’s “continued commitment to storytelling through creative quality and factual precision”. And another platform secured 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 believe a solitary Palestinian movie has ever gotten wide release in the United States”, said the filmmaker, who has recently established her own release firm, a new company, in response to the roadblocks. “Nobody has truly been prepared to assume the chance on demonstrating that these movies can attract broad audiences.”

“It’s unfortunate that we haven’t had that same support,” said the co-founder. “Not a single film has been picked up by a major streaming service.” Still, “the industry is definitely shifting”, he said, pointing to the recent pledge signed by over 3,900 influential industry personalities to avoid collaboration with Israeli cinema organizations “implicated in genocide and apartheid” against Palestinians, adding: “However, it appears, sadly, like the streaming platforms are not joining this movement.” (A number of famous individuals were among those who endorsed a criticism labeling the commitment a “document of misinformation”; some referenced Israel’s Oscar submission of The Sea, a movie concerning a young Palestinian who tries to visit the beach for the first occasion but is denied entry at a security post. Interestingly, the national film awards is facing government defunding after The Sea received the highest honor.)

An emerging trend of films led by Palestinians and addressing difficult topics is starting to gain momentum even without significant corporate support – the distribution company signed on to distribute the aforementioned epic, Jordan’s official submission to the Academy Awards, which will begin its limited theatrical release in the coming year; well-known stars came on board as producers. The company also handles the Palestinian entry for the Oscars, multi-generational story “Palestine 36”, and is a producer on another documentary, which drew rave reviews and a significant prize at Venice; 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