Several acclaimed documentaries, including 'Union' about Amazon workers and 'No Other Land' about Palestinian resistance, are facing challenges in securing distribution on major streaming platforms. The trend highlights a growing reluctance among distributors to tackle politically charged topics, despite audience demand.
The story of the first successful Amazon facility union and a film about Palestinian resistance in the West Bank are among the award-winning documentaries from last year that you can't find on a major streaming platform.
\'Union,' a documentary about a group of Amazon workers fighting to unionize a warehouse of one of the biggest companies in the world, is on the Oscar short list for best documentary feature — but, like several others on that list, you won't find it on a major American streaming platform. 'They said, 'We are not doing social issue documentary. We are not doing political films,'' said Stephen Maing, co-director of 'Union,' told CBC News. \The film is one of several films on the Oscars shortlist that either have no distribution deal in the U.S. or are only available through very limited avenues. Another example is 'No Other Land,' which documents Palestinian resistance in Masafer Yatta, a community in the occupied West Bank that the Israeli military has gradually destroyed. Despite debuting to acclaim last year, it too has been unable to find U.S. distribution deals. In a media landscape increasingly characterized by fewer options and more powerful corporate interests, films that push boundaries and challenge power are becoming harder for the general public to easily access, industry experts say. \'Union' follows a group of Amazon workers on Staten Island, N.Y., as they embark on an 11-month battle to unionize their warehouse. The film saw critical buzz, appearing at more than 100 festivals worldwide and winning prizes including at Sundance Film Festival. She said some distributors expressed to her privately that they were afraid of jeopardizing their relationship with Amazon MGM Studios if they took it. Hot Docs president warns this year's festival could be its last without more financial support 'Despite that being something audiences want to see, there's a lot of corporate interests that don't want that story to get out.' co-creator Abraham told The Associated Press in November that he believed the chances of finding an American distributor rested on the result of the then-looming U.S. election, and that distributors were holding back out of fear of a Trump win. 'But Basel risked his life for years since he was a young boy to film this material,' said the Israeli filmmaker, referring to his Palestinian co-filmmaker, Basel Adra. 'Can we not have one distributor with the courage, OK, to take a certain risk, but to distribute such an acclaimed and such an important documentary?' Although the film has distribution in 24 countries, no major U.S. distributor has signed on. The film will get a theatrical release in select U.S. theatres through Cinetic Media. \Major companies haven't always avoided 'overtly political' documentaries, said Pat Mullen, publisher of Canadian documentary outlet POV Magazine. Just five years ago, he said, Netflix picked up a documentary about labour struggles at a U.S. auto factory shortly after its Sundance debut. Mullen, who's been reporting on the documentary scene for 10 years, says we've recently been seeing a 'sense of risk aversion in the business.' 'We're seeing a lot more softer titles get distribution, like music documentaries, celebrity bios,' he said. 'Not necessarily ... films that really take a deep look at issues of today.' Brett Story is one of the co-directors of 'Union.' She said some distributors told her in private that they were afraid that picking up the documentary could jeopardize their relationship with Amazon MGM Studios. \Not every documentary breaking new ground has been shut out from major distributors. For example, Disney+ is set to carry 'The Fabelmans,' which follows a road trip between Will Ferrell and his friend Harper Steele, a transgender woman., and 'The Taliban,' which follows the growth of the Taliban after the U.S. retreat from Afghanistan. Both are only available to see in the U.S. and Canada through a little-known new streaming platform called Jolt, and only for a limited time. Streamers and major companies seem to be avoiding controversy, he said, even though that has historically sold tickets. 'Union' is being self-distributed by the team now, but although self-distribution provides more creative control, it isn't a long-term solution to the larger problems in media distribution, experts say. 'There's no logical connection between what the audience is expressing interest in and what distributors are resisting to take,' he said. 'The disconnect, it's not making sense,
DOCUMENTARIES DISTRIBUTION STREAMING AMAZON UNION PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE NO OTHER LAND OSCARS
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