A host of new documentaries are showcasing a wide array of experiences stemming from Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and its aftermath, particularly in the United States.
Three of the movies — including one in wide release — interview Jewish Americans about their experience with antisemitism on campus and beyond.
Another documentary takes cameras inside the pro-Palestinian student encampments last spring. It features as a narrator one protester who has become a symbol of President Donald Trump’s campus crackdown on what his administration says are “Hamas sympathizers.”
And a fifth, coming to Paramount+ later this month, pays special attention to the children who experienced Oct. 7 firsthand, including by being taken captive or losing family members.
The documentaries
Here’s a rundown of the many Oct. 7-related options on large and small screens.
“October 8”
“October 8” covers the rise of antisemitism in the United States following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel with a broad portrait of the Jewish American experience, including that of Jewish students. The documentary, which was released in theaters on March 14, was directed by Wendy Sachs and features interviews with Debra Messing and Sheryl Sandberg.
“I think of the audience as a global audience. I made this film not for the Jewish community, although it’s affirming for the Jewish community, it’s really important for the Jewish community, and the Jewish community is embracing this film,” Sachs told Kveller over Zoom. “It was intentionally made for a non-Jewish audience, for them to understand what antisemitism looks like today, for them to see, when they see a ‘Zionists not allowed’ sign, that means ‘Jew.’”
The Briarcliff Entertainment documentary has earned more than $1 million since its premiere, according to Deadline. It has been screened in wide-release and has been shown in over 100 theaters. It is now available on digital streaming platforms.
“The Encampments”
“The Encampments” tells the story of the pro-Palestinian student protests at Columbia University and across the country last spring. It maps the experience of three student leaders of the protest encampment at Columbia: Mahmoud Khalil, Grant Miner and Sueda Polat.
The documentary’s release was accelerated after Khalil’s arrest by ICE last month over his involvement in the Columbia protests, where the Palestinian graduate student was a negotiator. Miner, who is Jewish and was a graduate student union leader involved in the protests, was expelled by Columbia days later.
Macklemore, who has released music condemning Israel and supporting student protesters, is an executive producer on the film, which was directed by Michael T. Workman and Kei Pritsker. Pritsker, whose father is Jewish, is a longtime critic of Israel, and the film is sympathetic to the students it depicts.
The documentary premiered March 28 at the Angelika Film Center in New York and is estimated to have pulled in over $80,000 during its first screenings, according to Deadline, which reported that the movie could have the highest per-screen average opening for a documentary after 2018’s “Free Solo.” It’s now opening in Los Angeles and other cities.
“Blind Spot”
First released last fall, “Blind Spot” — focused exclusively on the experiences of Jewish college students concerned about antisemitism — was one of the first documentaries about the aftermath of Oct. 7 to land. It now has begun streaming on the Jewish Broadcasting Service.
The film includes firsthand testimonies on the rise in antisemitism from more than two dozen students at more than a dozen schools. It also provides context for antisemitism that existed in schools before the Oct. 7 attack, according to the documentary’s website. “Blind Spot” was produced by Ironbound Films with Leonard Gold as the executive producer.
“The New Jew: Days of War”
“The New Jew: Days of War” is the latest project featuring Guri Alfi, an Israeli comedian who has previously traversed the United States seeking to explain the American Jewish experience to Israelis.
Through interviews with hostage families, activists, and students, the documentary explores the perspective of American Jews in a post-Oct. 7 society. It was produced by Israel’s Public Broadcasting Corporation and premiered in North America at the Palo Alto JCC in March.
“The Children of October 7”
The pro-Israel influencer Montana Tucker is behind this documentary that is set to start streaming on Paramount+ later this month and then appear on MTV. It focuses on children who experienced the Oct. 7 attack firsthand, including some who were taken captive and later released and others who had their parents kidnapped or killed.
Tucker, who has traveled to Israel several times since the Oct. 7 attack, called the movie “one of the most important projects I’ve ever been part of” in a statement when Paramount acquired the movie, clips of which she has shown on her social media accounts.
“As the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, hearing these children share the horrors they endured — losing their families, their homes, and their innocence in a single morning — felt hauntingly familiar,” she said. “I’m grateful they trusted me with their stories and that they have this platform to share their truth.”
