The Art Theatre of Long Beach has announced new dates for “No Other Land,” the film about the destruction of Palestinian homes in the West Bank that won the Oscar for best documentary on Sunday but has yet to secure widespread release in the U.S.
Kerstin Kansteiner, vice president of the theater’s board of directors, said Tuesday the film will run across six showtimes on March 24 and 25. The theater previously had two showings of the documentary leading up to the Oscars ceremony.
Staff was shocked by the turnout on those days, Kansteiner said, as 150 or so people attended each — nearly triple their usual attendance for Friday and Saturday matinees. “Even on a Friday morning, when most people have to work,” she added. “It was very surprising to us.”
Theater officials said the decision to run additional screenings was typical of any Oscar winner, though this case is particularly special.
Despite winning top marks at the Oscars and at the Berlin International Film Festival last month, the film has struggled to secure a deal with any major U.S. distributors.
Shot between 2019 and 2023, “No Other Land” follows Palestinian activist Basel Adra as he documents the Israeli government’s efforts to demolish a community in Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank to build a military training ground. Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, who co-directed alongside Adra, is used to highlight the difference in treatment given to Israelis: Adra is treated like a criminal and cannot leave the West Bank, while Abraham can travel without interruption.
At his acceptance speech Sunday, Adra said the film reflected “the harsh reality” that Palestinians had endured for years, “as we call on the world to take serious action to stop the injustice and stop the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”
Standing beside his co-director, Abraham added: “We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger. We see each other, the atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people which must end, the Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7, which must be freed. … When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law and Basel is under military law that destroys his life and he cannot control.”
The film finished production days before Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that ignited the war in Gaza. It has since been acquired for distribution in 24 countries, including France and the United Kingdom. But it still has no major national distributor. Aside from a couple of festivals and a one-week run in New York, U.S. filmgoers have few options to view it by theater or streaming.
Kennedy Ghaill, who handles bookings for the Art Theatre, hopes that more small showings, coupled with the recent win this past weekend, will bring a needed momentum to expand the film’s footprint in the United States.
“Hopefully, more theaters in (Los Angeles) will pick it up now that it’s won,” Ghaill said, adding: “It’s important to showcase films not only about Palestine but also by Palestinians as well.”
Although the documentary had “been on the radar for quite a while,” Ghaill said it was particularly challenging to secure dates.
Through some internet searches, Ghaill eventually contacted Michael Tuckman, whose small-scale distribution house, mTuckman Media, is running the film at select theaters nationwide. “It was more work than typical, but once we got there, the community was super supportive, and it’s just been really great to show this film,” Ghaill said.
Tuckman, who declined to speak on the film’s distribution, said that since the awards show, attention around the film has grown significantly, with 120 screenings expected this weekend — 40 more than the prior.
Tickets are available here.