Bella, Gigi Hadid's sister Alana launches Palestinian-owned film label

Alana Hadid, the half-sister of Palestinian American models Bella and Gigi Hadid, is leading a new film production and distribution label, entertainment news site Deadline reports.

The label, Watermelon Pictures, is described as a “Palestinian-owned independent film distribution, production, and financing” outfit that will focus on “cultural representation and social advocacy and be dedicated to amplifying the voices of underrepresented filmmakers across the globe”.

The company aims to provide a “safe haven for excluded voices striving for creative resistance” and “educate and inspire audiences” to resist injustice.

Its first film, Walled Off, is a documentary about the Walled Off Hotel, a secret museum in a Palestinian-managed art hotel located near the occupied West Bank in Bethlehem, opposite the barrier wall financed and designed by British street artist Banksy.

The film follows the lives of Palestinians living in the area. The company says the film “journeys through the hotel with ‘the worst view in the world’, as well as Occupied Palestine and a lesser-known yet relevant past to highlight the importance of creative resistance as a form of protest”.

Walled Off is written and directed by American filmmaker Vin Arfuso, who is of Palestinian and Italian descent. It was co-produced by Hadid’s brother Anwar. Other producers include activist Nelson Mandela’s grandson and Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters.

The documentary will be released digitally on 3 May.

"I refuse to live in a world where my father cannot live and die where he was born."

Alana Hadid
Activist & Philanthropist pic.twitter.com/0uZubttmsE

— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) January 13, 2024

The Hadid sisters have been vocal about Israel's war on Gaza, which has now killed over 33,000 Palestinians since 7 October.

Alana called for a ceasefire during a speech in the Washington march for Gaza in January and has used her social media to talk about the current genocide in Palestine.

Her younger sister, Bella, has also condemned Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip and has been subjected to widespread backlash, including pro-Israel activists producing a deep fake of her, making it seem as if she is refuting and apologising for her pro-Palestinian views.