New Palestinian and World Cinema Streamer Watermelon+ Launches with ‘The Teacher'
Distributor Watermelon Pictures (which launched last year) is proud to unveil its latest venture, a new streaming platform called Watermelon+. Debuting today, Thursday, May 8, the streamer aims to highlight the work of Palestinian filmmakers and world cinema as a whole. This comes at a time when some streamers are facing criticism for removing Palestinian films from their platform entirely.
Watermelon+ comes on the heels of successful theatrical runs for the documentary 'The Encampments' and the feature debut for Oscar nominee Farah Nabulsi, 'The Teacher.' Nabulsi's Oscar-nominated short 'The Present' will also be available upon launch, while 'The Encampments' streams later this summer. Dozens of acclaimed films including 'From Ground Zero' (Palestine's Official 2025 Academy Awards entry) will be showcased on the platform, as well as Oscar nominees 'Omar' (2014 Best International Film), 'Five Broken Cameras' (2013 Best Documentary Feature), and 'Theeb' (2016 Best International Film).
More from IndieWire
How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Chaos
Neon Nabs Cristian Mungiu's 'Fjord,' Starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve
Co-founded by CEOS and brothers Badie and Hamza Ali, Watermelon Pictures has set out to create a wider audience for Palestinian cinema, bringing forth gems that are difficult to find elsewhere.
Of this new initiative, Badie said in an official statement, 'Curating these films to ensure they had a proper home was a mission we were honored to begin and it's one we're committed to carrying forward. This is just the beginning. Our vision is to grow Watermelon+ into a must-have platform for underserved communities everywhere, a true home for bold, necessary storytelling that deserves to be seen.'
Hamza added, 'Watermelon+ isn't just a platform for films — it's a launchpad for the next generation of underserved artists whose stories will shape the future. It's not only a preservation of our past; it's fuel for our future.'
'The Encampments' was able to have a particular impact as its release coincided with the arrest and detainment of one of its subjects, Mahmoud Khalil, one of the leaders of the Columbia University protests depicted in the documentary. In his review for IndieWire, Siddhant Adlakha wrote of the film, 'It ought to be no surprise that 'The Encampments' is a full-throated call to pro-Palestinian activism. What makes it artistically triumphant, however, is its sense of contemporary and historical detail, owed to both footage shot by the filmmakers, as well as by the protesters themselves.'
Supporters can watch and subscribe beginning today for $7.99 a month or $79.99 annually at watch.watermelonpictures.com/.Best of IndieWire
Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See
'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie
The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Wallace & Gromit' Studio Aardman Partners With France's Foliascope On Cross-Border Stop-Motion Training Program
Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep animation studio Aardman is joining forces with France's Foliascope and training expert Rhinoceros to launch a cross-studio training initiative in France and the UK to advance the skills of professional stop-motion animators. Oscar-winning Bristol-based studio Aardman and Foliascope, the credits of which include features such as Leonardo da Vinci biopic The Inventor, host some of the largest and most advanced stop-motion sets in Europe and are currently expanding their production slates. More from Deadline Annecy Revs Up For 2025 Edition; Kicking Off With Michel Gondry & Matt Groening Honors & Shorts Selection Featuring New 'Stars Wars: Visions' Title Gkids Takes North America For Cannes & Annecy Title 'Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain' Nickelodeon Acquires Animated Kids' Show 'Mr. Crocodile' From Joann Sfar's Magical Society & Mediawan Per a release announcing the program, the partners recognizing their need for highly skilled animators, decided to work with Rhinoceros to offer the cross-border program. The four-week intensive course will begin with two weeks at Foliascope Studio in France, followed by two weeks at Aardman's training facility, the Aardman Academy in the UK. The training will focus on enhancing animation technique, speed, character performance, and expressivity—preparing participants to contribute to upcoming stop-motion feature productions. Applications for the training program open in September 2025, with the course scheduled to take place in March 2026. The training is fully funded for eight selected animators, with support from AFDAS, France Travail Scène et Image, and the participating studios. 'The Aardman Academy has existed for over 20 years training, nurturing and inspiring new talent,' said Rachel Plant, producer at the Aardman Academy. 'We are delighted to be partnering with Foliascope and Rhinoceros with this new course to inspire the next generation of animators Interested animators can apply via the Rhinoceros website.' The partners will be presenting the new program in a session a the upcoming Annecy International Film Festival next week. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jared Leto accused of sexual misconduct and 'predatory, terrifying' behaviour by nine women
Oscar-winning American actor and Thirty Seconds From Mars frontman Jared Leto has been accused of sexual misconduct by nine women. In a report published by Air Mail, multiple women accused the 53-year-old star of Fight Club, Requiem For A Dream, Dallas Buyers Club and Suicide Squad of inappropriate behaviour. The allegations date back to the early 2000s, with one woman calling it 'an open secret' that he texted sexual remarks to teenage models. Allegations against Leto emerged last month, when DJ Allie Teilz shared an old Facebook post, written in 2012, on her Instagram Story. 'Youre [sic] not really in L.A. until Jared Leto tries to force himself on you backstage… In a kilt.. And a snow hat. I was assaulted and traumatized by this creep when I was 17,' she wrote. In separate story, she added: 'He knew my age and didn't care. What he did was predatory, terrifying and unacceptable.' One woman told the publication that in 2006, when she was 16-years-old, Leto approached her outside a Los Angeles café. She claimed Leto was sat with fellow actor Ashley Olsen – who was then 19 – and he had grabbed her arm. 'I looked down and it was Jared Leto,' she told Air Mail, adding: 'We had a quick conversation, and he got my number.' She went on to say that Leto called her home a few days later, recalling: 'I don't know if he was on drugs or what … It was the weirdest, grossest voice … [but] for me, it's Jared, you know?' 'And the conversations turned sexual,' she continued. 'He'd ask things like: 'Have you ever had a boyfriend? Have you ever sucked a dick?'' Model Laura La Rue came forward with similar claims, saying that when she was 16-years-old in 2008, she was at an event in a private residence in Beverly Hills where Leto was 'watching her so intensely'. 'He asked how old I was. I said, 'I'm 16. How old are you?'' La Rue told Air Mail. Leto, who was 36 at the time, then reportedly asked for her number. The two began an email correspondence, which resulted in her visiting Leto's home in April 2009, the outlet alleges. 'I remember him teasing me the whole time I was there,' La Rue said, adding: 'He was flirting with me. He'd lean in close, then pull away, like it was a game.' She described a separate visit when she was 17 years old, where she alleged Leto walked out of a room completely naked. 'He just walked out, dick out, like it was normal… I thought maybe this was just what adult men do,' she said. Another woman who spoke to the outlet said that she and Leto began texting while she was still underage. She alleged he would ask her inappropriate questions during her visits to his house, including 'Do any of the little boys you hang out with fuck you?' The woman alleged that once, when she was 18, Leto had 'suddenly pulled his penis out and started masturbating'. She told Air Mail: 'He walked over, grabbed my hand, and put it on him. He leaned in and said: 'I want you to spit on it.'' A representative of Leto has 'expressly denied' the multiple accusations reported in the Air Mail exposé, saying the claims were 'demonstrably false'. This is not the first time that Leto's behaviour has been questioned and called out. Similar claims were made in 2005, when The New York Post shared a story with the opening line: 'Jared Leto likes 'em young' after he had been spotted with Olsen and Lindsay Lohan. At the time, sources told the publication he had been 'aggressively pursuing many of the teen models shacked up at the Maritime Hotel'. In 2018, Metro reported on a Twitter post made by Dylan Sprouse, who is married to model Barbara Palvin. The post read: 'Yo @JaredLeto now that you've slid into the DMs of every female model aged 18–25, what would you say your success rate is?' Guardians Of The Galaxy and Superman director James Gunn replied to Sprouse's tweet at the time, saying: 'He starts at 18 on the internet?'
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UK Filmmaker Joanna Quinn Dedicates Annecy Honor To Gaza Animator Haneen Koraz
UK filmmaker Joanna Quinn paid tribute to Gaza animator Haneen Koraz as she received the Annecy International Animation Film Festival's Honorary Cristal at its opening ceremony on Sunday evening. The Bafta-winning and three-time Oscar-nominated The Canterbury Tales and Affairs of the Art director praised Koraz's work in the Gaza Strip spearheading women-run animation workshops for children. More from Deadline UK Comedian Dawn French Apologizes For "Clumsy Tone In One-Sided Gaza Video" Goodfellas Racks Up Sales On Annecy-Bound 'Little Amélie', 'Arco' & 'Angel's Egg' 'Wallace & Gromit' Studio Aardman Partners With France's Foliascope On Cross-Border Stop-Motion Training Program 'One day, she'll be stood here, holding one of these, hint, hint,' she continued, referring to her Cristal award. 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if the kids could come here and watch their films.' Quinn's was speaking amid growing international criticism of Israel's military campaign in the Palestinian territory – aimed at annihilating Islamist militant group Hamas in response to its October 7, 2023 attacks and retrieving Israeli hostages – which has left more than 54,000 people dead and the population on the brink of starvation. Speaking to Deadline afterwards at the opening night party, Quinn revealed she has just launched an initiative entitled 'To Gaza, With Love: A Global Anijam', inviting animators and artists from around the world to create 10 to 30-second animated messages of love and support to the Palestinian people. The contributions will be collected in an online interactive map, which Quinn hopes to premiere via livestream in August with the works then touring animation festivals around the world. Sunday night's ceremony also recalled late Gaza artist and photojournalist Fatima Hassouna due to the presence of Iranian-French director Sepideh Farsi in the main feature film jury during alongside composer Pablo Pico (Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds) and György Ráduly, Director of the Film Archive at the National Film Institute Hungary Hungary Following animated feature The Siren, which opened the Berlinale in 2023, Farsi turned to documentary to capture Hassouna's life in her film Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk. The film recently played in the ACID line-up in Cannes, having been announced for the parallel section just 24 hours before the young woman was killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home. On a far lighter note, Quinn recalled her first trip to Annecy in 1987 with short Girls Night Out. The work which introduced her signature figure, Welsh housewife Beryl, on a trip to see a male stripper, won the Special Jury Prize. 'I remember 1987 so well. My film was right at the end of the festival. I spent the whole festival looking at people having fun through misty windows, thinking how do I get in? Anyway, I'm in now,' she recalled. Quinn also gave a special mention to her life partner, producer and writer Les Mills. 'Animation is a team effort, so I want to say a big thank you to Les, my partner because we're a team,' she said. Since 1987, Quinn has continued to garner acclaim with subsequent credits including Bafta-winning and Oscar-nominated children's 30-minute film Famous Fred (1997/98), adapted from Posy Simmonds' book about a kitten who becomes a famous singer; Dreams and Desires: Family, which reprised Beryl and won Annecy's Special Jury Prize, and Oscar and Bafta-nominated Affairs of the Art, also featuring Beryl. Commenting on the short compilation of extracts from her films which played prior to her receiving her award, Quinn said ruefully to laughter: 'Animation is so sad – that was my entire life and it only took, what? a minute? And it takes so long.' Breaking with tradition, Annecy opened with five animated short this year rather than a single feature film this year. Canadian Oscar-nominated, stop-motion directorial duo Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, who work under the banner of Clyde Henry Productions, opened the program with charming rags to riches fable The Girl Who Cried Pearls. The pair revealed they had finished the film just six days prior to unveiling it in Annecy. 'We've been here before and it's aways been a super good time, but we've never had the joy to show you a premiere for a film, which we finished on Monday, six days ago,' said Szczerbowski. Further titles in the line-up include 9 Million Colours, an underwater tale of unexpected friendship between a predatory shrimp and vulnerable blind fish, by Czech director Bára Anna Stejskalová; Shinya Ohira's Star Wars: Visions – 'Black', from Japanese anime studio david production, produced by Lucasfilm for Disney+, and French directors Marjorie Caup and Olivier Héraud's Carcassonne-Acapulco about a flight which takes an absurd turn. Bulgarian Oscar-nominated director Theodore Ushev, who won Annecy's Best Short Award in 2020 for he Physics of Sorrow, also returned with timely political allegory Life with an Idiot, adapted from a collection of short stories written by dissident Soviet writer Victor Erofeyev. 'If you follow an imbecile, the chance you'll become an imbecile is very high; if you admire an idiot, your risk of becoming an idiot is very high,' said Ushev. He then apologised to the festival's Artistic Director Marcel Jean, before declaring,'F**k Putin, F**k Trump and F**k Netanyahu' with the audience in the 1000-capacity Grande Salle of the festival's main Bonlieu Theatre venue erupting into applause. Annecy gets into its stride on Monday with sneak peaks of Marvel Animation's Eyes Of Wakanda and Sony Pictures Animation's Goat as well as the world premiere of Andy Serkis' Animal Farm and Competition screenings for Olivia And The Invisible Earthquake, Dandelion's Odyssey, Arco, Little Amélie And The Character Of Rain and The Magnificent Life. Best of Deadline Tony Awards: Every Best Musical Winner Since 1949 Tony Awards: Every Best Play Winner Since 1947 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
