 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film industry |
| Founded | 2024 |
Area served | United States |
| Website | watermelonpictures |
Watermelon Pictures is an American film production and distribution company founded in 2024 by Badie and Hamza Ali. The company has distributed Israelism (2023), Life Is Beautiful (2023), From Ground Zero (2024), To a Land Unknown (2024), and The Encampments (2025).
MPI Media Group, an independent distribution company, was founded by the brothers Malik Ali and Waleed Ali. Malik's sons Badie and Hamza Ali [1] launched Watermelon Pictures, a company specializing in film production, financing, and distribution, with Alana Hadid set to serve as creative director, in April 2024. [2] [3] The mission of the company is to showcase Palestinians and Arabs, who have been poorly represented and dehumanized in mainstream media. [4] [5]
The company's first release Walled Off, a documentary focusing on The Walled Off Hotel, directed by Vin Arfuso, and executive produced by Roger Waters, Kweku Mandela and Anwar Hadid was released on May 3, 2024. [6]
Watermelon Pictures has launched in May 2025 a streaming service, Watermelon+, "that will serve as a home for its upcoming releases as well as several decades’ worth of Palestinian cinema," with the rights to 70 films "including Oscar nominees Omar , 5 Broken Cameras and Theeb ". [7]