House of Hope distribution lands with New Mountain Films in North America
New Mountain Films has taken North American rights to Marjolein Busstra’s award-winning West Bank school documentary.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
House of Hope distribution in North America is locked in: Toronto-based New Mountain Films has acquired theatrical and streaming rights to Marjolein Busstra’s documentary about a pacifist Waldorf school in the occupied West Bank, Deadline reported.
The deal gives New Mountain the film’s North American theatrical and streaming rights. Deadline reported that the agreement was handled by New Mountain Films founder and CEO Khaled Sabbour with Esther van Messel and Shiran Shmerling of Zurich sales company First Hand Films.
House of Hope follows Manar and Milad, a couple running a pacifist Waldorf elementary school in al-Eizariya, a Palestinian town near Jerusalem. According to Deadline, Busstra made the film with a Palestinian crew, including Dutch-Palestinian cinematographer Abu Mosab.
The documentary is set against the strain of Israel’s settlement expansion in the area, which Deadline described as illegal. The film observes the couple’s effort to preserve their students’ childhood and imagination while conflict in the region intensifies.
When will House of Hope be released in North America?
New Mountain Films plans to release House of Hope in theaters in select major North American markets in mid-October 2026, Deadline reported. After that run, the film is set to move to NM+, New Mountain’s streaming platform.
NM+ is described by New Mountain as a purpose-driven streaming service. Deadline reported that watch-time on House of Hope through the platform will be converted directly into charitable giving tied to the film’s impact.
The film has already built festival momentum. House of Hope had its world premiere at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam in 2025, then screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto in May.
At Hot Docs, the film won the Best International Feature Documentary award. Deadline reported that the prize, supported by the Donner Canadian Foundation, qualifies the film for consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.
That qualification means the film can be submitted for Oscar consideration in the documentary feature race. It does not mean the film has been nominated.
Ruby Deelen and Olivia Sophie van Leeuwen produced House of Hope for 100% Film. Ossama Bawardi and May Jabareen coproduced for Palestine-based Philistine Films, according to Deadline.
Sabbour said in Deadline’s report that the film fits the kind of work New Mountain was created to support: crafted stories with real stakes that can find viewers outside festivals. Annette Warring, New Mountain Films’ president and COO, said the film’s 91 minutes upend assumptions through its focus on Manar and Milad teaching children to read and imagine.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.