Overview

• Director Annemarie Jacir and cast used the red carpet to display watermelon pins, keffiyehs, Palestinian flags, “stop the genocide” messages on their palms, and a prop camera dripping with fake blood.
• Jacir described the situation in Gaza as a genocide and urged governments to intervene, saying silence amounts to a failure.
• Set in 1936 under the British Mandate, the drama draws on rare, colorized archival footage and took eight years to make, with portions relocated to Jordan after the 2023 war disrupted production.
• The film is Palestine’s submission for the Academy Awards’ international feature category, and Watermelon Pictures holds U.S. and Canadian distribution rights; the ensemble includes Jeremy Irons, Hiam Abbass and Liam Cunningham.
• Israeli authorities report about 1,200 people killed in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, while Gaza health officials say more than 64,000 have died in Israel’s offensive; some scholars and rights groups, including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, have called it genocide, a characterization the Israeli government rejects.