Watermelon Staff Picks

Curated selections our team can’t stop thinking about: visionary, daring, unforgettable.

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  • To'oborni

    Movie

    Tensions rise at home when Salma's family braces for a visit from Lebanese relatives. After not having seen them in over 20 years, her mother and teta return to Middle Eastern traditions in order to impress. However, as a high school senior struggling with her own identity, Salma must choose betw...

  • It Must Be Heaven

    Movie

    Elia Suleiman escapes from Palestine in search of an alternative homeland, only to discover that his homeland follows him wherever he goes. The promise of a fresh start soon unravels into a comedy of errors: whether in Paris or New York, reminders of Palestine are always close at hand.
    From award...

  • The Encampments
    Movie + 1 extra

    The Encampments

    Movie + 1 extra

    When a group of students launch a movement protesting genocide, they spark a nationwide uprising in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

    Directors: Michael.T Workman, Kei Pritsker | 2025

  • Unmaking Of

    Unmaking Of: Behind the Scenes of All That’s Left of You follows the dramatic production of Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis' All That’s Left of You. The film follows director Dabis and her Palestinian film crew, as war unexpectedly breaks out in Gaza. As the foreign crew evacuates, ...

  • Like Twenty Impossibles

    When a Palestinian film crew on their way to Jerusalem gets stopped at a checkpoint, they leave their cameras rolling to capture what happens next.

  • Pistachio Wars

    Movie

    A journalist follows a trickle of information upstream, leading to revelations about California's water and the couple accused of hoarding it to build their own agricultural empire.

    Directors: Yasha Levine, Rowan Wernham | 2025

  • Sudan, Remember Us

    Movie

    Four young activists armed with their art struggle through the Sudanese revolution of 2019 in this energizing and hopeful tale of turmoil.

    Director: Hind Meddeb | 2025

  • Pomegranates and Myrrh

    Movie + 1 extra

    After her husband is detained by the occupation, a distraught newlywed in Ramallah is left to manage the family olive farm and soon finds solace in Dabke— and a fellow dancer.

    Director: Najwa Najjar | 2008

  • Wajib

    Movie

    When Shadi returns to Palestine from his life abroad, he must cooperate with his divorced father to hand deliver invitations to his sister's wedding.

    Director: Annemarie Jacir | 2018

  • Farha

    Movie

    As the 1948 Nakba unfolds, a Palestinian girl's dreams of a city education vanish when she hides in a cellar for safety, glimpsing her village's destruction through the cracks.

    Director: Darin J. Sallam | 2024

  • The Promise
    Movie + 1 extra

    The Promise

    Movie + 1 extra

    A Palestinian man sets out to climb Everest, fulfilling a promise made to his father on his deathbed— a secret pledge that holds the key to his destiny.

    Director: Leonardo Antonio Avezzano | 2025

  • From Ground Zero
    Movie + 1 extra

    From Ground Zero

    Movie + 1 extra

    Shortlisted for an Oscar, this documentary features shorts by 22 Palestinian filmmakers in Gaza, capturing resilience and creativity amid the genocide and devastation.

    Director: Rashid Masharawi | 2025

  • Budrus
    Movie + 1 extra

    Budrus

    Movie + 1 extra

    A Palestinian village in the West Bank comes together with allies to stand against the planned expansion of the Israeli apartheid wall.

    Director: Julia Bacha | 2010

  • Salt of This Sea
    Movie + 1 extra

    Salt of This Sea

    Movie + 1 extra

    A young Palestinian-American woman travels to Palestine to reunite with her grandfather.

    Director: Annemarie Jacir | 2008

  • To a Land Unknown

    Movie

    Two Palestinian cousins hustle their way through the underbelly of Athens, dreaming of making it to Germany. But as their hardship grows, so too does their desperation, testing the limits of what they will do for freedom.

    Director: Mahdi Fleifel | 2025

  • The Teacher
    Movie + 1 extra

    The Teacher

    Movie + 1 extra

    A grieving schoolteacher takes a troubled student under his wing with the help of a British social worker. Their lives become entangled in a delicate web of resistance and betrayal.

    Farah Nabulsi | 2025

  • Israelism
    Movie + 1 extra

    Israelism

    Movie + 1 extra

    Two young American Jews visit occupied Palestine to understand the impact of Zionism. What they witness challenges their worldview, pushing them to join a growing movement to stand for liberation.

    Directors: Erin Axelman, Sam Eilertsen | 2024

  • Born in Gaza
    Movie + 1 extra

    Born in Gaza

    Movie + 1 extra

    This moving documentary examines the 2014 Israeli attack on Gaza by following the stories of ten Palestinian children amid the harrowing devastation.

    Director: Hernán Zin | 2024

  • Exception
    Movie + 1 extra

    Exception

    Movie + 1 extra

    When a leaked video of his lecture goes viral, a Palestinian professor faces a difficult choice.

    Director: Rodrigue Hammal | 2024

  • The Idol
    Movie + 1 extra

    The Idol

    Movie + 1 extra

    The fictionalized story of Mohammed Assaf's stunning rise to fame when he snuck out of Gaza to audition for Arab Idol.

    Director: Hany Abu-Assad | 2016

  • Divine Intervention

    In this award-winning comedy by Elia Suleiman set in his hometown of Nazareth, a Palestinian couple arranges clandestine meetings as love blossoms despite checkpoints.

  • Boycott
    Movie + 1 extra

    Boycott

    Movie + 1 extra

    When a news publisher, an attorney and a speech therapist in the United States face losing their jobs over anti-boycott laws, they launch a pivotal First Amendment legal battle.

    Director: Julia Bacha | 2021

  • Alam
    Movie + 1 extra

    Alam

    Movie + 1 extra

    A teen living in the Galilee agrees to take part in a defiant protest to impress a new classmate. Featuring Shabmouri and Dabbour of BLTNM.

    Director: Firas Khoury | 2023

  • 200 Meters
    Movie + 1 extra

    200 Meters

    Movie + 1 extra

    The apartheid wall exiles a Palestinian father from his family. When denied entry on a technicality at a checkpoint, he risks everything to reach his injured son.

    Director: Ameen Nayfeh | 2022