Sold-out in Toronto, still without buyers: Israel and Gaza films face tough market
Films about the Oct. 7 attacks and the war in Gaza sold out screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival, but left the festival still searching for buyers.
Avi Nesher's Our Loves, an Israeli drama about Oct. 7, and Hosam Abu Dan's Thirteen in Gaza, a portrait of a father and teenage daughter living as refugees that was shot entirely in Gaza during the ongoing war, both had premieres at Toronto, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Both sold out.
Both arrived with sales teams in place. Gersh and Other Angle Pictures, acting as sales agents shopping the film to distributors, handled Our Loves at Toronto, while MAD World handled Thirteen in Gaza, according to The Hollywood Reporter. No US distribution deals were announced.
They were part of a wider group of titles on similar themes moving through the autumn festivals. NAZA, a documentary by Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor about the IDF's alleged system of targeting civilians in Gaza, premiered at Venice to a 25-minute standing ovation and then won the Special Jury Prize there, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Festival prizes have not guaranteed deals. No Other Land, a documentary by Israeli and Palestinian film-makers about Israeli settler and IDF violence in the occupied West Bank, won the Oscar yet failed to find a US buyer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It was instead self-released in a limited theatre run supported by Cinetic Media and Michael Tuckman Media.
Two other titles were also seeking a path to audiences. Moshe Rosenthal's Tell Me Everything premiered at Sundance and won best picture at Israel's Ophir Awards, which made it Israel's entry for the Academy Awards, but it was still seeking US distribution with Paradise City handling sales, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Edward Said: Between Worlds, an archival documentary on the Palestinian academic and advocate, had its world premiere at Toronto and was seeking distribution with Cinetic handling sales in domestic, the United States and Canada, and Dogwoof selling internationally.
What makes this stand out is the gap between public interest and deal-making. Sold-out festival halls point to curiosity. For viewers, this means some of these films may take longer to reach cinemas or streaming, or may arrive through smaller distributors.
Alternative outlets are active. Watermelon Pictures, described by The Guardian as a distributor releasing Palestinian films that otherwise struggle to find distribution, acquired North American rights to Palestine 36, about 1936 Palestine, ahead of its world premiere in Toronto, according to Variety and Reuters. The company is also launching Watermelon+, a streaming service for Palestinian and world cinema priced at $7.99 per month, according to Screen Daily. On the other side, producers Ben Silverman and Micah Green are backing Shooq, an online platform intended to connect Jewish media projects with studios, investors, funds and philanthropists, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
