Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” has found a distributor in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where it is bound to have special resonance.

Prominent Dubai-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has acquired MENA rights from Austrian outfit Autlook for the timely film, which is directed by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists: Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Basel Adra. The doc, chronicling the gradual demolition of Palestinian houses and villages in the Masafer Yatta region of the West Bank by Israeli military bulldozers, scored the best documentary prize at last year’s Berlin Film Festival — where it debuted — and went on to play widely on the fest circuit, winning a slew of other awards prior to the Oscar.

At the Oscars ceremony, the directors made an impassioned speech: “We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people,” said Adra, a Palestinian journalist and activist. “About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter is that she will not have to live the same life I’m living now … ‘No Other Land’ reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades and still resist.”

Abraham, an Israeli journalist, spoke about the power of the film being a collaboration between Israelis and Palestinians. “Together, our voices are stronger,” he said. “We see each other — the destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end, the Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of Oct. 7, which must be freed.”

Though “No Other Land,” following it’s Berlin launch in 2024, was sold by Autlook to dozens of territories — including the United Kingdom and France — it has struggled to find a home in both the U.S., where it has been self-released by the filmmakers with bookings facilitated by mTuckman Media, and, until now, in the MENA region where distributors tend to steer clear of politically sensitive fare.

In the U.S., “No Other Land” premiered Feb. 2 on a single screen, grossing $26,000, and gradually grew over the following weeks to surpass the $1.2 million mark. It recently expanded to 120 screens and has prompted controversy along the way, with Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner asking the city to end a lease agreement and withdraw financial support from an independent theater that is screening the film. He called it “a false, one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our city and residents.” Since the Oscars, Palestinian rights groups have also criticized the film for allegedly violating terms of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, which opposes the cooperation of Palestinians with Israeli companies operating in the West Bank.

“In a world filled with dominant narratives, it is essential to consider diverse viewpoints,” Front Row chief Gianluca Chakra said in a statement. “This film offers a unique perspective, bringing together filmmakers united by a just vision. The footage presented is both striking and unparalleled. We have a duty to make sure it reaches audiences.”

Front Row said it plans to imminently release “No Other Land” theatrically in select MENA region cinemas, followed by a premium VOD release across the region.

Hamas agreed Friday to release Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American, will be released along with the bodies of four other hostages, according to a deal offered by mediators. As of Friday, Alexander has been held captive for 525 days, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

Though he spent most of his life in New Jersey, Alexander was born in Israel a few months before his parents moved to the U.S., according to the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

After graduating from high school, Alexander decided he would enlist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rather than enroll in college.

On Oct. 7, Alexander, who was serving in the IDF’s Golani Brigade, an infantry unit, was patrolling near Gaza when Hamas’ attacks on Israel began. The attacks ended with 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 hostages taken, including Alexander.

Yael Alexander, Edan’s mother, recounted the day he was taken hostage in a recent interview with AJC’s “People of the Pod.” Yael was in Israel in early October 2023, visiting her family and hoping to see Edan. On the morning of Oct. 7, she spoke with Edan, who said that he was seeing “terrible stuff,” but he assured her that he was safe. Then he was taken hostage.

Yael Alexander, the mother of hostage Edan Alexander, speaks during The  ‘Run for Their Lives’ rally and run in Central Park on the 100th day since the October 7 attack by Hamas, on Jan. 14, 2024 in New York City.  (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

On Nov. 30, 2024, more than a year after Alexander was captured, Hamas released a video of Alexander speaking in Hebrew and Arabic. Alexander, like other hostages forced to make propaganda videos, delivered messages about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-President-elect Donald Trump.

A few days after the video’s release, Adi Alexander, Edan’s father, spoke with “Fox & Friends First,” calling the film “very emotional” and “disturbing.” He said it was the first time they had seen a sign of life from their son since he was taken hostage.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Fox News’ Yael Rotem-Kuriel and Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

Deputy foreign ministers of Russia, China and Iran call for multilateral talks on ending ‘unlawful’ US sanctions.

Representatives of Iran, Russia and China have urged United States President Donald Trump’s administration to end sanctions imposed against Tehran over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme, while calling for the resumption of the multilateral talks on the issue.

The three nations “emphasised the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions”, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu read from a joint statement issued on Friday. He was flanked by his counterparts from Russia, Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich, and Iran, Kazem Gharibabadi.

“The relevant parties should work to eliminate the root causes of the current situation and abandon sanctions, pressure and threats of the use of force,” Ma said.

Iran’s Gharibabadi praised the meeting as “very constructive and positive”, even as he accused “some countries” of creating “an unnecessary crisis” to thwart Tehran.

Later on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was due to meet with the three senior diplomats.

The talks are the latest attempt to resolve the Iran impasse, as Trump tries to reach out to its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an attempt to jumpstart talks.

Any progress on the Iran talks with the Trump administration requires the support of Russia and China, which are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council alongside the US, France and Britain.

The approval of the Security Council paved the way for the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Trump abandoned in 2018 during his first term as president, setting in motion years of attacks and tensions in the wider Middle East.

Under the original 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67 percent purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilogrammes (661 pounds). The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s programme put its stockpile at 8,294.4kg (18,286 pounds) as it enriches a fraction of it to 60 percent purity.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful.

While Iran has maintained it would not negotiate under threat, its economy has been savaged by the US sanctions. Protests over women’s rights, the economy and Iran’s theocracy in recent years have shaken its government.

Last Friday, Trump said he had sent a letter to Khamenei, urging negotiations but also warning of possible military action.

In response, Khamenei mocked the US president saying he was not interested in talks with a “bullying government”. He complained that Tehran “negotiated for years, reached a complete and signed agreement”, and Trump “tore it up”.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also said that he would not negotiate with the US while being “threatened”, and Iran would not bow to US “orders” to talk. But he had previously said in a speech to the UN that Tehran was “ready to engage”.

Other Iranian officials have offered some signals over the possibility of negotiations, and the latest meeting in Beijing could indicate its openness for new talks.