Watermelon Pictures co-founders Badie Ali and Hamza Ali, who had a high-profile 2025-26 Oscars season with their International Feature Film nominee The Voice Of Hind Rajab and shortlisted titles Palestine 36 and All That’s Left Of You, are back on the awards trail with documentary American Doctor.
The film centers on three American physicians of differing backgrounds who volunteered their services in besieged hospitals in Gaza, treating Palestinian children grievously injured in Israel’s sustained bombardment and invasion of the occupied territory.
The pair were at the ninth edition of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) last week with the film, directed by Oscar-nominee and Emmy-winner Poh Si Teng, where it won the Cinema For Humanity Audience Award. Their company is also the North American distributor of Who Killed Alex Odeh?, about the murder of the American Palestinian activist in California in 1985, which featured in GFF’s Feature Documentary Competition this year.
A Palestinian boy in Gaza undergoes surgery in ‘American Doctor’
Watermelon Pictures
These are just a couple of examples from Watermelon Pictures’ growing slate that champions stories from Palestine and beyond, as well as amplifies “marginalized voices that wouldn’t typically have a platform.”
Deadline caught up with the two Ali brothers at GFF’s Festival Plaza by the Red Sea to talk about their future vision for Watermelon Pictures, the impact of The Voice Of Hind Rajab‘s success, releasing American Doctor, and the ideological shift in Hollywood when it comes to telling stories about Palestine.
“We’ve been seeing a renaissance with a lot of the A-listers,” said Badie. “There’s a shift in momentum. You’re seeing people come out and start working with us because of our stance, not in spite of it, so it’s unprecedented to say the least.”
You can read the interview below, which has been edited for length and clarity.
DEADLINE: You founded Watermelon Pictures in 2024, and in just two years, you’ve expanded your slate with so many great films. What’s your vision for the upcoming few years?
HAMZA: We are going to continue on this route of amplifying underrepresented voices, specifically from the region and beyond, as well as marginalized voices that wouldn’t typically have a platform.
We’re very excited to be here in El Gouna. We are releasing El Sett in December, which is very resonant. We’re also working on a development slate, which is going to be more about reaching mainstream audiences and humanizing our people through entertainment.
DEADLINE: Speaking of mainstream audiences, do you have plans to start distributing outside of North America?
HAMZA: We act as an international sales agent, so we do sub-distribute to other distributors in different regions, but eventually, we would like to be more of a global distribution company.
DEADLINE: I’d like to talk a bit about The Voice Of Hind Rajab. Did you envision its global resonance and the Oscar-nomination?
HAMZA: With Kaouther’s vision and obviously the story itself, which is powerful and sad, we weren’t super surprised by the success the film had. Of course, we’re happy that it received a nomination because it amplifies the reach of the film. Film distribution is very tricky, but we’re happy to see where it landed.
BADIE: In addition, we had two other films that were shortlisted alongside The Voice of Hind Rajab. One was Palestine 36 and the other was All That’s Left Of You. Last year, three out of the fifteen shortlisted films were Palestinian, which speaks to the cause and the moment. The good thing is that audiences and members of the Academy are starting to see the importance of this work and how these films have a greater impact on humanity.
‘All That’s Left Of You’
Twenty Twenty Vision
DEADLINE: I attended a screening of All That’s Left Of You with its director Cherien Dabis and she was talking about the difficulty of getting people to watch films about Palestine. What do you think works and what doesn’t in terms of getting a big audience to see these films?
BADIE: We put such an emphasis on the Academy Awards and the campaign to push for it because that’s one of the best ways to amplify beyond our community. Our communities typically do come out to see these films, but we need more mainstream audiences.
Obviously, foreign language is a challenge, but we’re trying. The Voice of Hind Rajab getting nominated opened the door for a Hulu sale. Hulu taking it has opened another door for people who have no idea about the issue and are now being more exposed to the content. All this stuff works in tandem. That’s what Hamza and I were talking about. Our next development slate is a little bit more commercial, maybe English language for our region. That again, opens a door to our culture that makes content more accessible.
HAMZA: Part of what we do is trying to get these diverse audiences. Our marketing approach is four quadrant. We’re trying to get as wide of an audience out as possible, and we are seeing that. Right now, we’re releasing American Doctor and we’ve been happy to see that the audiences are extremely diverse. That’s the goal. We’re going to continue to do that through the content, and distribution strategy.
DEADLINE: You had an interesting approach to the American Doctor marketing campaign, in which you provided healthcare workers free tickets to screenings. Can you tell me about the thought process behind that?
HAMZA: We wanted to stay true to our ethos. It’s more than just film and entertainment. It was our way of honoring the work of the healthcare workers. It was such a beautiful sight to see these nurses, doctors and EMTs coming out in their scrubs and their white coats, and wearing scrub caps in the theater. Just another way of making cinema with a purpose.
DEADLINE: You’ve worked with a lot of top directors like Kaouther Ben Hania, Annemarie Jacir, and Cherien Dabis to name a few. Who else is on your wish list?
HAMZA: We have some exciting ones on the horizon already that haven’t been announced, so you’ll see soon. We’re expanding and broadening our scope. Our goal is to bring in more of these adjacent causes or aligned people within the industry. Maybe people who have been a bit blacklisted for the wrong reasons, and making sure that they have a soft landing with us, and that will give them not only a home but a really strong place for their films to debut.
BADIE: We’ve been seeing a renaissance with a lot of the A-listers. When people think of Hollywood, they think it has a certain ideology. But the reality is most of the people who work within Hollywood are actually aligned. There’s a shift in momentum. You’re seeing people come out and start working with us because of our stance, not in spite of it, so it’s unprecedented to say the least.
Melissa Barrera
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
DEADLINE: Do you see hope with more A-list Hollywood actors like Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara becoming more involved in supporting Palestinian stories?
HAMZA: Absolutely. One example I’d like to highlight is Melissa Barrera. She’s amazing, and she was before her time with the whole Scream situation.
Now, most of the cast are coming out saying we should have stood by her, like Jenna Ortega did. And another example, not film-related, but Macklemore’s situation with Ed Sheeran. I think Ed Sheeran made a huge mistake, not only by not supporting Palestine, but by also censoring his fellow artists. People don’t want to see censorship, and so, that’s where we come in and say, ‘You have a home here with us.’
