‘No Other Land’ Oscar Win Boosts Theatrical Screenings in Europe

While best documentary Oscar winner “No Other Land” has been struggling to get visibility in the U.S., the Palestinian-Israeli doc is having a robust run overseas. And, at least in international markets, being crowned with an Academy Award is already giving the film considerable boost.

However, the timely doc — which chronicles the gradual demolition of Palestinian houses and villages in the Masafer Yatta region of the West Bank by Israeli military bulldozers — still does not have a U.S. distributor. Instead, “No Other Land” has been self-released by the filmmakers with bookings facilitated by mTuckman Media. This past weekend, the film played in more than 80 theaters across the U.S. and its cumulative theatrical box office stands at over $600,000 after four weeks in release.

In the U.K., where specialty docs distributor Dogwoof released the film theatrically last November, “No Other Land” crossed the £100,000 ($127,000) mark on the eve of the Oscars and now looks to continue its run with new bookings, according to a company rep. Perhaps more significantly – at least in terms of visibility – “No Other Land” will have its network TV premiere on the U.K.’s Channel 4 today.

“No Other Land” has been on theatrical release since Jan. 16 in Italy via distributor Wanted Cinema and has clocked more than 44,000 admissions to date, grossing more than €200,000 ($210,000). Following its Oscar win, the doc will now be rereleased in 60 Italian theaters on March 6, even though distribution never truly stopped. Demographically, the audience for “No Other Land” in Italy spans all ages. “It resonates with many different generations,” Wanted marketing exec Maria Silvia Scuderi told Variety, noting that they got pro-Palestine advocacy groups involved in the promotional campaign which generated special event screenings. 

In France, “No Other Land” went on release Nov. 13 via L’atelier D’images. Since then, it has clocked 45,000 admissions and grossed roughly €300.000 ($315,000). Twenty new screenings have been booked this week, including two in Paris where it is expected to soon be getting more screens, according to Austrian documentary sales outfit Autlook, which sold the film for distribution in 24 countries.

The doc went on limited theatrical release in Spain on Nov. 8 and is currently available to stream on the country’s SVOD Filmin service, sharing an online release with the Movistar+ platform. Thanks to its Oscar win, the doc became one of the most-watched documentaries this past weekend. Now, several Spanish cinemas in Madrid and Valencia have confirmed “No Other Land” for theatrical rerelease, according to Autlook.

The distributor said that following the “No Other Land” Oscar win they are seeing a flurry of additional theatrical screening requests coming from Australia and New Zealand, Benelux and Switzerland, among other territories.

“No Other Land” is directed by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists – Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Basel Adra – and produced by Fabien Greenberg & Bård Kjøge Rønning. The doc’s production companies include Antipode Films and Yabayay.