Watermelon Pictures Launches new Streaming Platform Amplifying the Voices of Underrepresented communities

Hamza Ali Co-Founded Watermelon Pictures with his brother Badie Ali as a subsidiary label under Amplify Media which their father and uncle founded in 1976 to amplify marginalized voices with a focus on Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims. The brothers then launched Watermelon +, a streaming service, on May 8th and is available to subscribers worldwide.

“It is a place for us to see ourselves on screen,” Ali told Palestine in America.

With films from renowned Palestinian directors like Annemarie Jacir, Farah Nabulsi, Elia Sulaiman, and Hani Abu-Assad  as Ali puts it they “have the best of the Palestinian Cinema all in one place.”

Ali also discussed the early release of “The Encampments” which was due to be released in October and was still undergoing edits when Mahmoud Khalil, one of the main subjects of the film, was detained by ICE. Watermelon Pictures decided to release the film earlier to advocate for Khalil and other students that were being detained. Since the release, Watermelon Pictures received hundreds of screening requests, a notable screening being at Columbia where Mahmoud was studying and involved in the student protest movement before his detainment. 

Listen to our full interview with Ali on the Palestine in America podcast.

For  Watermelon Pictures film screenings and tickets: https://www.watermelonpictures.com/films

For subscription to the Watermelon + Streaming platform 

https://watch.watermelonpictures.com/

To stay up-to-date with Watermelon Picture’s new film releases and screenings: 

https://www.instagram.com/watermelonpictures/?hl=en