Latest news with #Watermelon+
Kuwait Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Kuwait Times
Hadid sister helps launch Palestinian film streaming site
(From left) Bella Hadid, Anwar Hadid, Marielle Hadid and Alana Hadid attend Joe's Jeans and Bella Hadid celebration for the launch of the 2016 Joe's Jeans campaign at Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, California. Alana Hadid, the older sister of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid, has helped set up a new film streaming platform to bring Palestinian perspectives to a global audience, its founders confirmed Thursday. Watermelon+ was launched at the Cannes film festival as more than 100 people were killed in a Zionist strikes on Gaza on Thursday. At least 80 died on Wednesday. 'Unless we get (Palestinian) voices out there, nothing's going to change,' said Badie Ali, one of two US-born Palestinian brothers who founded the website, where Hadid is creative director. A model and activist, her father, property developer Mohamed Anwar Hadid, is Palestinian. Showing 'neglected or silenced' Palestinian perspectives was particularly important in the United States, an ally of Zionist entity, Ali insisted. Alana Hadid attends the Badgley Mischka collection during, New York Fashion Week: The Shows at Gallery 1, Skylight Clarkson Sq on February 14, 2017 in New York City. --AFP photos The platform offers around 60 films, including several set in Gaza. They span from Emmy-awarded documentary 'Five Broken Cameras' to 'The Wanted 18', a comic true story about West Bank villagers hiding cows inside their houses from Zionist troops during the First Intifada. Co-founder Hamza Ali said the aim was to humanize Palestinians. 'It's dehumanization and erasure that contribute to the politics,' he said. 'We're more than our suffering. We're a warm, hospitable, creative, funny people.' Zionist bombardment has killed more than 53,000 people in Gaza.--AFP
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hadid sister helps launch Palestinian film streaming site
Alana Hadid, the older sister of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid, has helped set up a new film streaming platform to bring Palestinian perspectives to a global audience, its founders confirmed Thursday. Watermelon+ was launched at the Cannes film festival as more than 100 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza on Thursday. At least 80 died on Wednesday. "Unless we get (Palestinian) voices out there, nothing's going to change," said Badie Ali, one of two US-born Palestinian brothers who founded the website, where Hadid is creative director. A model and activist, her father, property developer Mohamed Anwar Hadid, is Palestinian. Showing "neglected or silenced" Palestinian perspectives was particularly important in the United States, an ally of Israel, Ali insisted. The platform offers around 60 films, including several set in Gaza. They span from Emmy-awarded documentary "Five Broken Cameras" to "The Wanted 18", a comic true story about West Bank villagers hiding cows inside their houses from Israeli troops during the First Intifada. Co-founder Hamza Ali said the aim was to humanise Palestinians. "It's dehumanisation and erasure that contribute to the politics," he said. "We're more than our suffering. We're a warm, hospitable, creative, funny people." Israeli bombardment has killed more than 53,000 people in Gaza, according to the besieged Hamas-run territory's health ministry, and an aid blockade also threatens famine. Israeli leaders have expressed a desire to empty the territory of its more than two million inhabitants as part of the war sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The unprecedented assault resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wanted the United States to "take" Gaza and turn it into a "freedom zone". Earlier this year, he said he wanted to transform it into the "Riviera of the Middle East". ah/fg/sbk
France 24
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Hadid sister helps launch Palestinian film streaming site
Watermelon+ was launched at the Cannes film festival as more than 100 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza on Thursday. At least 80 died on Wednesday. "Unless we get (Palestinian) voices out there, nothing's going to change," said Badie Ali, one of two US-born Palestinian brothers who founded the website, where Hadid is creative director. A model and activist, her father, property developer Mohamed Anwar Hadid, is Palestinian. Showing "neglected or silenced" Palestinian perspectives was particularly important in the United States, an ally of Israel, Ali insisted. The platform offers around 60 films, including several set in Gaza. They span from Emmy-awarded documentary "Five Broken Cameras" to "The Wanted 18", a comic true story about West Bank villagers hiding cows inside their houses from Israeli troops during the First Intifada. Co-founder Hamza Ali said the aim was to humanise Palestinians. "It's dehumanisation and erasure that contribute to the politics," he said. "We're more than our suffering. We're a warm, hospitable, creative, funny people." Israeli bombardment has killed more than 53,000 people in Gaza, according to the besieged Hamas-run territory's health ministry, and an aid blockade also threatens famine. Israeli leaders have expressed a desire to empty the territory of its more than two million inhabitants as part of the war sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The unprecedented assault resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wanted the United States to "take" Gaza and turn it into a "freedom zone". Earlier this year, he said he wanted to transform it into the "Riviera of the Middle East".
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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 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
