Toronto and Venice film festivals are showcasing a wave of new films about Israel and Gaza, but filmmakers and industry insiders say mainstream US distributors remain reluctant to buy them, fearing boycotts or backlash. Titles including Avi Nesher's Our Loves, Hosam Abu Dan's Thirteen in Gaza, and Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor's NAZA have drawn acclaim at festivals yet struggle to secure American distribution deals, highlighting a persistent gap between critical recognition and commercial appetite for content touching on the conflict.

NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at Venice after a 25-minute standing ovation, but director Yuval Abraham fears it may face the same fate as his previous film, No Other Land, which won an Oscar yet still failed to find a US buyer and was eventually self-released. Even Israel's official Oscar submission, Tell Me Everything, remains without US distribution, as does the documentary Edward Said: Between Worlds. In response, some producers, such as Sarah Mowaswes, are bypassing traditional distributors altogether, building audiences directly online, citing a noticeable shift in younger US viewers' interest in Palestinian stories.