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This past March, a pair of documentaries exploring the consequences of the October 7th, 2023 attacks 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 killed more than 1,200 people in Israel’s southern region, most of them civilians. The film, produced by a prominent celebrity, was broadly distributed by an independent film company that has also handled a film about Donald Trump and a documentary on Jamal Khashoggi. Marketing for the film occurred on mainstream programs, and it ultimately grossed more than $1.3 million domestically, a high total for a documentary with political themes.

The other film, The Encampments, faced a tougher road. This film examines campus protests against the retaliatory actions in of Gaza, focusing in part on protest organizer Mahmoud Khalil – who was later taken into custody by federal authorities for his activism – received no support from famous TV hosts. Its limited theatrical run at a New York theater led to threats of violence, an incident of vandalism in the theater’s lobby and removal of ads online. That it was released at all – and made $80,000 in its opening weekend, a notable achievement for the specialty box office – is due to a new distribution company, an upstart, Palestinian-American founded film funding and release firm started by brothers the Ali brothers to support movies presenting Palestinian views reach audiences they typically cannot, in a industry that has historically overlooked or marginalized such stories.

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

These two films demonstrate the distinct environments for Israeli and Palestinian narratives in the United States – one concentrated and frequently supported 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 limited release of “The Road Between Us”, a non-fiction film following a former Israeli military leader’s efforts to save his son’s family from Hamas forces on 7 October. A gripping thriller-like story of endurance, pain and grief that omits Israel’s subsequent killing of at least 66,000 people in Gaza in retaliation, The Road Between Us received endorsement from well-known figures and won the audience choice prize for top documentary at a major film festival. US distribution rights were quickly snapped up by a consulting firm.

It’s difficult to get any controversial, politically charged movie financed, let alone released in the United States, especially under the second Trump administration. But movies presenting Palestinian viewpoints, or films questioning the dominant story of a authority that has used the tragedies of October 7th into a weapon of war justifying an internationally recognized genocide in Gaza, have found it especially challenging, occasionally unfeasible, to reach audiences. “I’ve never made a film about Palestine that’s ever been distributed,” said a filmmaker, the creator behind a documentary titled “Coexistence, My Ass!”, a film about an comedian from Israel reexamining her past as “the symbolic figure for the peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians” in the aftermath of the widespread devastation of Gaza.

After a successful festival circuit, the filmmaker, who is Lebanese Canadian, had aspirations for a release agreement for their documentary. “We believed that there could be a possibility that Coexistence could break through just based on the subject’s distinct outlook – it’s such a unique way of looking at the issue,” the director said. But agreements fell through; the production group ultimately opted for a self-release strategy beginning soon, handled by the same company that orchestrated a previous documentary’s self-release 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 Oscar award under difficult circumstances for outstanding documentary; weeks later, Israeli settlers severely beat a co-director, who was then detained by military personnel reportedly ridiculing the award. It remains unavailable for online viewing in the United States but made more than $2.5m 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 three generations of a family from Palestine displaced in 1948, also sought distribution after a successful festival appearances, but faced hesitation from distribution companies over the “content theme”. “We had high hopes that one mainstream distributor would agree to release it,” said the American-Palestinian filmmaker. One conversation with an unnamed company ended, according to the filmmaker, with a pass, referencing too many films. “That’s exactly what they told another Palestinian film 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 support Palestinian films”. Major streaming companies have avoided involvement. But a prominent studio recently purchased the international streaming rights to Red Alert, a four-part scripted series partly produced by an Israeli 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 creating heroes through turmoil”. The company leader touted the series as proof of the company’s “continued commitment to storytelling through artistic excellence and accuracy”. And another platform secured the US rights for One Day in October, a dramatized show inspired by first-hand accounts of the incident that will premiere on its second anniversary.

Meanwhile, “I don’t think a solitary Palestinian movie has ever gotten wide release in the US”, said the filmmaker, who has since formed her own release firm, 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 equivalent backing,” said the founder. “None of our movies has been acquired by a major streaming service.” Nevertheless, “the industry is definitely shifting”, he said, pointing to the recent commitment signed by over 3,900 influential industry personalities to avoid collaboration with Israeli film institutions “implicated in genocide and apartheid” against Palestinians, noting: “However, it appears, sadly, like the streaming platforms are not joining this movement.” (Several celebrities were among those who endorsed a criticism calling the pledge a “source of falsehoods”; several cited Israel’s Oscar submission of a film titled “The Sea”, a movie concerning a Palestinian boy who attempts to go to the beach for the first time but is refused access at a checkpoint. Interestingly, the national film awards is facing government defunding after the film won the top prize.)

An emerging trend of Palestinian-led, challenging films is finally beginning to crest even without significant corporate support – 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 the coming year; well-known stars joined as executive producers. The company also handles Palestine’s official Oscar submission, multi-generational story Palestine 36, and is a producer on The Voice of Hind Rajab, which received critical acclaim and a significant prize at Venice; this movie, which recreates the death of a five-year-old girl in the region with her actual recordings, will be distributed in Europe by a distribution partner, and has {yet to find|not