Oscar Winner ‘No Other Land’ Finds Middle East Distribution via Front Row: ‘We Have a Duty to Make Sure It Reaches Audiences’
Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” has found a distributor in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where it is bound to have special resonance.
Prominent Dubai-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has acquired MENA rights from Austrian outfit Autlook for the timely film, which is directed by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists: Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Basel Adra. The doc, chronicling the gradual demolition of Palestinian houses and villages in the Masafer Yatta region of the West Bank by Israeli military bulldozers, scored the best documentary prize at last year’s Berlin Film Festival — where it debuted — and went on to play widely on the fest circuit, winning a slew of other awards prior to the Oscar.
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At the Oscars ceremony, the directors made an impassioned speech: “We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people,” said Adra, a Palestinian journalist and activist. “About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter is that she will not have to live the same life I’m living now … ‘No Other Land’ reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades and still resist.”
Abraham, an Israeli journalist, spoke about the power of the film being a collaboration between Israelis and Palestinians. “Together, our voices are stronger,” he said. “We see each other — the destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end, the Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of Oct. 7, which must be freed.”
Though “No Other Land,” following it’s Berlin launch in 2024, was sold by Autlook to dozens of territories — including the United Kingdom and France — it has struggled to find a home in both the U.S., where it has been self-released by the filmmakers with bookings facilitated by mTuckman Media, and, until now, in the MENA region where distributors tend to steer clear of politically sensitive fare.
In the U.S., “No Other Land” premiered Feb. 2 on a single screen, grossing $26,000, and gradually grew over the following weeks to surpass the $1.2 million mark. It recently expanded to 120 screens and has prompted controversy along the way, with Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner asking the city to end a lease agreement and withdraw financial support from an independent theater that is screening the film. He called it “a false, one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our city and residents.” Since the Oscars, Palestinian rights groups have also criticized the film for allegedly violating terms of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, which opposes the cooperation of Palestinians with Israeli companies operating in the West Bank.
“In a world filled with dominant narratives, it is essential to consider diverse viewpoints,” Front Row chief Gianluca Chakra said in a statement. “This film offers a unique perspective, bringing together filmmakers united by a just vision. The footage presented is both striking and unparalleled. We have a duty to make sure it reaches audiences.”
Front Row said it plans to imminently release “No Other Land” theatrically in select MENA region cinemas, followed by a premium VOD release across the region.
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