The People Want Political Films
And other signs of life for the distribution of radical media.
Sure, it’s not going to be 2004 or 2018, which saw previous peaks for political, conscious-raising films (from Fahrenheit 9-11 to RBG to even arguably Black Panther), but as I suggested in a post back in November, “I am somewhat confident that the extreme right-wing pressures inflicted on America by Trump II will produce equal and opposing forces from the Left.” Here we are, just past the 100-day mark of the new authoritarian United States, and we’re already starting to see signs of a resurgence in the types of powerful political films that the mainstream media machines had supposedly abandoned, whether in deference to their algorithms or the country's supposed conservative turn.
While I'm no Hollywood analyst, the most prominent example seems to be Ryan Coogler’s surprise box-office breakout Sinners (like Coogler’s own Black Panther, as well as Get Out and I Am Not Your Negro were during Trump’s first term). Set in the Jim Crow South, Sinners may be a mainstream horror film, but it also challenges the right-wing’s current attacks on Black history and the U.S.’s long legacy of oppression. As Nadira Goffe writes in Slate, “the greatest evil” in the film “is white supremacy, the system of structural racism and bigotry underlining all aspects of life in 1930s Mississippi.” And I don't think it's a reach to argue that the success of Sinners is being propelled, in part, by strong countervailing forces in the country who are looking for alternative narratives.
When it comes to independent films and documentaries, the industry is still reeling from fear, contractions, and consolidations, but there are bright signs: Two films about Palestinian resistance (and you can't get more politically fraught than that!) are now bona-fide nonfiction success stories: Oscar-winner No Other Land, which has made over $2.5 million at the box office, and The Encampments, a chronicle of the Columbia University protests lead by Mahmoud Khalil, who is still being illegally detained in Louisiana, will pass the $500,000 mark in theaters this week.
According to The Encampments distributor Watermelon Pictures, the ticket sales are a “minor miracle,” given that most of their ads have been rejected on Meta and Google. The Encampments will soon hit their new streaming platform Watermelon+, which launches this Thursday.
Given the box-office doldrums for social issue docs in the post-pandemic years, these films’ sales offer some evidence that both political films—and even films centering on the Palestinian experience—have a theatrical audience. Compare these numbers to just a couple of years ago when one of the highest-grossing examples of nonfiction in U.S theaters was CatVideoFest 2023 (with $605,203 in sales), and you have evidence of a swing, albeit a small one. Distributors, take note: Coexistence, My Ass!, the heralded Sundance premiere about an Israeli activist comedian, is still up for grabs, as far as I know. (Come on, it’s about a comedian!)
I was also heartened over the weekend by the audience turnout for substantive, weighty, and sometimes challenging films I hosted at the Doc10 film festival in Chicago. Film festivals, with guests and a unique kind of buzz, are not theatrical releases, but they can provide a guide and a bellwether, and we had people sandwiched on steps and crammed in the aisles for Antidote, a documentary thriller about Christo Grozev, the journalist responsible for exposing Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s poisoners (and which will be broadcast on embattled PBS today; it’s the kind of film that Tulsi Gabbard and Marjorie Taylor-Greene want to suppress on public media, because it tells the truth about Russia).
Robust audiences also turned out for The Perfect Neighbor and 2000 Meters to Andriivka, two films whose unflinching subject matter didn't scare away those searching for a meaningful cinematic experience. And on the more inspirational side, hundreds came out to see our sold-out screening of Prime Minister, a portrait of New Zealand’s former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Yes, it's a crowdpleaser, winning Sundance’s Audience Award, but there’s no doubt that it’s also a political film—it’s about a Prime Minister, after all. Audiences were hungry for Ardern’s message of compassionate leadership. While I can’t predict how these films will do in theaters, they are festival hits, and they’re all getting releases, which wasn’t a sure thing just a month ago.
In fact, when the Doc10 program was announced at the end of March, only five out of 11 of the films had distribution. Now, nine of them do (though all not announced yet). That's quite a leap in a little over a month as companies like Magnolia Pictures—once known for releasing docs successfully into theaters (RBG, I Am Not Your Negro)—are back in the nonfiction game after taking a break, having already announced the acquisition of another Doc10 selection FOLKTALES last week (UPDATE: Magnolia also acquired Prime Minister).
There was some talk at the festival about the collapse of the documentary distribution and streaming market, as reported on by Variety, and of course, it’s largely true—institutional, commercial, and public support for documentaries is seriously threatened right now.
But I’m starting to think that philanthropic and audience support may be moving in the right direction to fill those gaps out of frustrations with, and activist resistance against, our current dominant powers-that-be. And as we all know, the industry—always several months late to the moment—may eventually catch up with public opinion and evolving viewing habits and change course. I heard from one filmmaker about their desire to get another project off the ground with some political content, and they said gatekeepers were still running scared. But perhaps in another six months, those same commercial entities might shift gears. They always go where the wind is blowing.
There is also the mounting sense that distribution paradigms might need to shift and new strategies may need to be deployed. While there is still a chance that we’re in the midst of a cyclical downturn, which may eventually turn upwards, there is also the sense that it won’t ever go back up enough.
At the same Doc10 distribution panel that Variety covered, executive producer Geralyn Dreyfous also brought up Angel Studios as an alternative model for those currently feeling disenfranchised. If the Christian Right once believed the only way to get their stories made and seen was through a grassroots-supported funding model, why can’t leftwing groups who are now apparently outside of the mainstream create their own equity crowdfunding platform to support projects that neither government grants or private streamers will apparently back? Too bad the names Radical Media and Revolution Studios are already taken, but I’d happily be a “guild” member for something like it.
I could not agree more -- yes, the audience is hungry for political films -- movies that are relevant and say something.
However, when it comes to a critical part of the industry -- films festivals -- a huge chasm exists between this audience and festival programmers.
Because I primarily make political films and theater, I'm super familiar with this terrain. Last year, my short film which leaned heavily into the transgender issue, got over 2 million views on YouTube and TikTok, with thousands of comments from grateful viewers -- on the flip side, I submitted this same film to dozens of film festivals and to date have a 0% acceptance rate from 17 festivals -- not one film festival has accepted our film.
Of course there could be numerous reasons for this, however, I can't help but think that in our politically charged times, that when it comes to this particular political issue, film festivals are placating sponsors and playing it safe by staying away from politics.
Anthony, have you heard about a little film called “American Thief “? ;)