Why Is It So Hard to Watch This Oscar-Winning Documentary?
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For many low-budget, independent films, an Oscar win is a golden ticket. The publicity can translate into theatrical releases or rereleases, along with more on-demand . However, for , a Palestinian鈥揑sraeli film that just won best documentary feature at the , this exposure may not translate into commercial success in the U.S. That鈥檚 because the film has been unable to find it in America.
No Other Land chronicles the efforts of Palestinian townspeople to combat an Israeli plan to demolish their villages in the West Bank and use the area as a military training ground. It was directed by four Palestinian and Israeli activists and journalists: , who is a resident of the area facing demolition, , Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor. While the filmmakers in a number of U.S. cities, the lack of a national distributor makes a broader release unlikely.
Film distributors are a crucial but often unseen link in the chain that allows a film to reach cinemas and people鈥檚 living rooms. In recent years, it has become more common for controversial award-winning films . Palestinian films have encountered additional barriers.
who has written about Palestinian cinema, I鈥檓 disheartened by the difficulties No Other Land has faced. But I鈥檓 not surprised.
The Role of Film Distributors
Distributors are often invisible to moviegoers. , it can be difficult for a film to find an audience. Distributors typically acquire rights to a film for a specific country or set of countries. They then , cinema chains, and streaming platforms. As compensation, distributors receive a percentage of the revenue generated by theatrical and home releases.
The film , another finalist for best documentary, shows how this process typically works. It premiered at the in January 2024 and was acquired for distribution just a few months later by , a major U.S.-based distributor of independent films.
The inability to find a distributor is not itself noteworthy. No film is entitled to distribution, and most films by newer or unknown directors face long odds. However, it is unusual for a film like No Other Land,听which has and has been recognized听at various film festivals and award shows.听No Other Land听, where it鈥檚 easily accessible on multiple streaming platforms. So why can鈥檛 No Other Land find a distributor in the U.S.? There are a couple of factors at play.
Shying Away From Controversy
In recent years, film critics have noticed a trend: Documentaries on controversial topics . These include to unionize and , one of the few Republican congresspeople to vote to impeach Donald Trump in 2021.
The Israeli鈥揚alestinian conflict, of course, has long stirred controversy. But the release of No Other Land comes at a time when the issue is particularly salient. The Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing Israeli bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip have become a polarizing issue in U.S. domestic politics, reflected in the campus protests and crackdowns in 2024. The filmmakers鈥� critical comments about the Israeli occupation of Palestine have also in Germany.
Yet the fact that this conflict has been in the news since October 2023 should also heighten audience interest in a film such as No Other Land鈥攁nd, therefore, lead to increased sales, the metric that distributors care about the most.
Indeed, an earlier film that also documents Palestinian protests against Israeli land expropriation, , was a finalist for best documentary at the 2013 Academy Awards. It was able to find a U.S. distributor. However, it had the support of a major European Union documentary development program . The support of an organization like Greenhouse, which had ties to numerous production and distribution companies in Europe and the U.S., can facilitate the process of finding a distributor.
By contrast, No Other Land, although it has and received some funding from organizations in Europe and the U.S., was made primarily by a grassroots filmmaking collective.
Stages for Protest
While distribution challenges may be recent, controversies surrounding Palestinian films are nothing new. Many of them stem from the fact that the system of film festivals, awards, and distribution is primarily based on a movie鈥檚 nation of origin. Since there is no sovereign Palestinian state鈥攁nd many countries and organizations 鈥攖he question of how to categorize Palestinian films has been hard to resolve.
In 2002, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences submitted to the best foreign language film category鈥斺�攂ecause Palestine was not recognized as a country by the United Nations. The rules were changed for the following year鈥檚 awards ceremony.
In 2021, the cast of the film , which had an Israeli director but primarily Palestinian actors, in protest of the film鈥檚 categorization as an Israeli film rather than a Palestinian one.
Film festivals and other cultural venues have also become places to and . For example, at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017, the right-wing Israeli culture minister 鈥攁苍诲&苍产蝉辫;鈥攄ress that featured the Jerusalem skyline in support of Israeli claims of sovereignty over the holy city, despite under international law.
At the听, a number of attendees, including Billie Eilish, Mark Ruffalo, and Mahershala Ali, wore red pins in support of a ceasefire in Gaza, and pro-Palestine protesters delayed the start of the ceremonies. As he accepted his award at the 2025 Academy Awards, No Other Land 听鈥渢he foreign policy鈥� of the U.S. for 鈥渉elping to block鈥� a path to peace. Even though a film like No Other Land addresses a topic of clear interest to many Americans, I wonder if the quest to find a U.S. distributor just got even harder.
This article is republished from听听under a Creative Commons license. .
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Drew Paul
is an associate professor of Arabic in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2013.
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