No Other Distributor: Oscar-Winning No Other Land to Be Released Independently on U.S. Platforms
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, the creators of the documentary No Other Land have announced that the acclaimed, Oscar-winning film will be independently released in U.S. theaters starting October 20.
The filmmakers claim that 100% of the proceeds from the film’s sales on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube will be donated to Palestinian communities in the occupied area of Masafer Yatta.
The team behind No Other Land stated that they rejected a distribution offer from MUBI due to its partnership with the Israeli company Sequoia. They were reportedly close to signing a deal with the platform last summer, but the contract was canceled after the revelation of Israeli investment ties.
Basil Adra, one of the film’s directors, said:
“We negotiated with MUBI for months and believed the film had found its home, but in the end, we learned they had agreed to major funding from Sequoia Capital.”
Yuval Abraham, the film’s co-director, added:
“Beyond being unethical, it simply doesn’t make sense for them to distribute a film that exposes Israel’s oppression of Palestinians while collaborating with a company involved in that same oppression.”
No Other Land was independently screened in U.S. theaters several months ago, grossing $2.5 million. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Jury Award.
Earlier, several filmmakers had signed a petition calling for a boycott of MUBI, following a similar move by over 600 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), who signed an open letter criticizing the organization’s silence over an Israeli military and settler attack on Hamdan Bilal. The Academy later issued a follow-up statement apologizing for not mentioning Hamdan Bilal by name.
