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In March of this year, two documentaries examining the aftermath of the October 7th, 2023 attacks arrived in theaters within days of each other. One, named “October 8”, centered on the “emergence of antisemitism on college campuses, on social media and on the streets” after Hamas forces killed more than 1,200 people in southern Israel, most of them civilians. This documentary, produced by a well-known actress, was widely released by an independent film company that has also handled a film about Donald Trump and a documentary on Jamal Khashoggi. Marketing for the film took place on popular TV shows, and it ultimately earned more than $1.3 million in the United States, a high total for a documentary with political themes.

Meanwhile, the second documentary, The Encampments, encountered greater obstacles. A documentary on campus protests against Israel’s retaliatory destruction of Gaza, partly centered on activist a key figure – who was later taken into custody by federal authorities for his activism – received no celebrity morning show promotion. Its limited theatrical run at a New York theater led to intimidation attempts, an incident of vandalism in the cinema entrance and removal of ads online. That it was released at all – and earned $80,000 in its debut weekend, a significant win for the specialty box office – is thanks to Watermelon Pictures, an upstart, Palestinian-American founded film funding and release firm started by siblings the Ali brothers to support movies presenting Palestinian views reach audiences 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?

These two films evince the different landscapes for Israeli and Palestinian narratives in the US – one concentrated and frequently supported by more mainstream institutions, the second more fragmented and more ad hoc, yet growing. The second anniversary of the October 7th events highlights this disparity even more – recently saw the limited release of The Road Between Us, a non-fiction film following a retired Israeli general’s efforts to save his son’s family 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 Palestinians in response, this documentary received support from well-known figures and received the People’s Choice Award for best documentary at a major film festival. US distribution rights were quickly snapped up by a consulting firm.

It is challenging to get any controversial, politically charged movie funded, let alone released in the US, particularly during the current political climate. But movies presenting Palestinian viewpoints, or films questioning the dominant story of a authority that has turned the horrors of 7 October into a weapon of war justifying an globally condemned humanitarian crisis in the region, have found it especially challenging, sometimes impossible, to connect with viewers. “I’ve never made a film about Palestine that’s ever been distributed,” said one director, the director of a documentary titled “Coexistence, My Ass!”, a documentary about an comedian from Israel confronting her upbringing as “the literal poster child for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process” in the wake of the widespread devastation of Gaza.

With an acclaimed festival run, the filmmaker, who is Lebanese Canadian, had aspirations for a distribution deal for Coexistence, My Ass!. “We thought that there could be a chance that Coexistence could break through just based on the comedian’s unique perspective – it’s such a novel approach of examining the situation,” the director said. But agreements fell through; the production group finally chose a self-release strategy beginning soon, managed by the identical firm that arranged a previous documentary’s self-distribution earlier this year. That film, a searing documentary by an collaborative group about generational efforts to resist occupation in a small West Bank community, won a Oscar award under difficult circumstances for best documentary; shortly after, local settlers violently attacked a film-maker, who was then detained by military personnel allegedly mocking the prize. It’s still not available 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 Oscar-nominated documentaries this year).

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

Another film, All That’s Left of You, a sweeping epic on three generations of a family from Palestine displaced in 1948, also sought distribution after a strong festival run, but faced hesitation from distributors over the “content theme”. “We had high hopes that a major distributor would agree to release it,” said the Palestinian American director. One conversation with an unnamed company ended, according to the filmmaker, with a rejection, referencing too many films. “That’s exactly what they said to another Palestinian movie that more recently premiered at a film festival. It all feels like fear of controversy,” she said.

The truth, according to a founder of Watermelon Pictures, is that “there are not a lot of distributors that are going to support Palestinian films”. Major streaming companies have steered clear. But a prominent studio recently acquired the global 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 Israel that, per the logline, “turned southern Israel into a war zone, testing humanity and creating heroes through turmoil”. The studio CEO promoted the show as proof of the firm dedication to narrative art through artistic excellence and factual precision”. And another platform secured the American rights for One Day in October, a scripted series based on first-hand accounts of the attack that will premiere on its second anniversary.

At the same time, “I believe a single Palestinian film has ever gotten mainstream distribution in the United States”, said the filmmaker, who has since formed her own distribution company, Visibility Films, in wake of the roadblocks. “Nobody has truly been prepared to assume the chance on proving that these films could be seen widely.”

“It is regrettable that we haven’t had that same support,” said the founder. “None of our movies has been picked up by a major streaming service.” Still, “the industry is definitely shifting”, he said, referencing the recent commitment signed by more than 3,900 influential industry personalities to not work with Israeli cinema organizations “implicated in genocide and apartheid” against Palestinians, noting: “But it seems, unfortunately, like the streaming platforms are not following suit.” (A number of famous individuals were among those who signed a rebuke calling the pledge a “source of falsehoods”; some referenced the country’s Oscar entry of The Sea, a film about a Palestinian boy who tries to visit the beach for the first time but is denied entry at a checkpoint. Notably, Israel’s version of the Oscars is facing government defunding after The Sea won the top prize.)

A new wave of Palestinian-led, challenging films is finally beginning to crest even without major corporate backing – Watermelon agreed to release All That’s Left of You, Jordan’s official submission to the Academy Awards, which will begin its limited theatrical release in January; prominent actors came on board as producers. Watermelon also represents Palestine’s official Oscar submission, multi-generational story Palestine 36, and is a producer on another documentary, which received critical acclaim and a significant prize at Venice; that film, which recreates the death of a young child in the region with her actual recordings, will be distributed in Europe by a distribution partner, and has {yet to find|not