One Oscar-Winning Movie Never Got Distribution – Here's How You Can Watch It

A year after the Academy Awards rightfully honored director Jonathan Glazer's Holocaust drama "The Zone of Interest" for Best International Feature Film, the voting body made an equally monumental decision by awarding the heart-rending Palestinian feature "No Other Land" for Best Documentary — yet, for the vast majority of audiences, moviegoers have been unable to watch the film in theaters. In a highly-charged political landscape, the film world has had to reckon with the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel and the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population in Gaza. Both films represent two of the most critical artistic efforts of the century, with each creative team making an effort to urge the world to wake up and pay attention to the plight of the Palestinian people. However, despite enjoying an acclaimed film festival run and the #1 spot on /Film's own "10 Most Underrated Movies Of 2024" rankings, "No Other Land" has yet to secure widespread studio distribution across the globe.

As of the date of this publishing, it remains inordinately difficult to actually watch "No Other Land" the way it was meant to be seen. The film comes from directors Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, and Hamdan Ballal and documents Israel's repeated demolition, terrorizing, and unjust occupation of various villages in Basel's hometown of Masafer Yatta located in the West Bank. For a supposedly "complicated" political situation, the documentary cuts through all the outside noise to deliver a frighteningly personal and firsthand account of what it's like to live through the complete and utter devastation of one's home ... all while Israelis live in relative decadence mere miles away without any state-sanctioned infringement upon their rights.

"No Other Land" is an urgent, necessary, and uncomfortably sobering experience, but here's where fortunate viewers are able to watch the film.

If Kieran Culkin delivered the funniest and most poignant speech of the night, then both Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra turned their time in the spotlight into a passionate call to arms for the world to set aside divisiveness and come together to stop the obvious evil happening in front of our eyes. What can we as individuals do to stem the tide of world superpowers and their allies from following their own self-serving agendas? Well, watching efforts like "No Other Land" and spreading the word as much as we can is a great start.

Disappointingly, options remain extremely limited in the face of American distributors refusing to purchase distribution rights for what's now become an Oscar-winning documentary. But fortunately, general audiences aren't entirely left out in the cold. In the United States, theaters in major cities such as New York, Austin, and Los Angeles are currently playing "No Other Land" in limited release. Film fans would be well advised to check their local listings online to see if it may be playing near them. Elsewhere in the world, moviegoers have slightly more improved conditions. Australians, for instance, are able to check it out on DocPlay, while those in the UK can catch the film streaming on Channel 4. Otherwise, those interested can check various online platforms to find the film on streaming.

"No Other Land" is one of the very rare movies that truly earns the label of a vital and necessary watch, and hopefully its well-deserved Best Documentary win will get it one step closer to being able to be seen around the world.