Alana Hadid Says Palestinian Backlash 'Fuels' Her As She Leads Film Studio Watermelon Pictures (Exclusive)

Hadid chatted with TooFab ahead of the release of the company's first acquisition, documentary, Walled Off, and explained why she believes this venture is meaningful -- and the film studio in particular, which was co-founded by brothers Hamza and Badie Ali.

"I think I have lofty expectations of what we can achieve in general with Watermelon Pictures. I want to achieve Palestinian liberation," Hadid told us of the studio which is rooted in Palestinian culture and heritage. "I want to achieve the liberation of the Palestinian voice. I want to allow Palestinians to be humans. I wanna see a Palestinian romantic comedy. I wanna see an animated series. I want people to just understand that we're humans and that we have real lives, and we want those real lives to be recognized."

The symbolism present in the company's name and logo is directly tied to the free Palestine movement, as the watermelon contains the colors of the Palestinian flag.

"There were many years where the Palestinian flag was banned from being shown, even in the West Bank and all over Israel. And so Palestinians took to using the watermelon as a symbol of their nationality, their culture, and their liberation," the fashion designer, fellow model and older sister to Gigi and Bella Hadid, explained.

Walled Off uses the famous Walled Off Hotel -- a Banksy-designed hotel located along the border wall in the occupied West Bank -- as its focal point, and the film's director, Vin Arfuso, says he chose to make the location the center of his doc because "it's the only way Americans would watch it."

"And that's who I want to watch it. It's pretty simple," he told TooFab. "How do you get the people that you want to watch it to watch it? You have to kind of play up on these pop culture things and art. Aside from that, I personally found that it was a very digestible way of doing it."

Shot in a TikTok, fast-paced and flashy format, the doc takes viewers through years and years of history in 90-minutes, in a way Arfuso hopes is easy to understand.

"If it's easy to understand, it's easier for me to make," Arfuso explained. "I feel like you just get way more out of that than being like, 'Watch this Congress debate. And here's how this guy...' I mean, no one cares. They don't. So that was the thinking behind that."

The doc was originally released just months before Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, leaving 1,200 Israelis dead, and spawning months of retaliation in Gaza that have resulted in the deaths of more than 34,000 Palestinians, per local health officials. While he made the film for everyone, Arfuso said the people he thinks it will impact the most, are those who don't know about Palestine and the years-long conflict there.

"It hits the hardest for people who don't know anything about Palestine. And there are certain things that I used within the film where even Palestinians among themselves would have a debate, 'Well, I don't agree with what this guy said.' It's not about that," he maintained.

Alana's younger brother, Anwar Hadid, is also at the forefront of the film, appearing in the doc and serving as an executive producer on the project. In Walled Off, he's seen taking a trip to the occupied West Bank where he learns about the hotel, Palestinian history, and hears stories from citizens both young and old.

While Alana partnered with Watermelon after Anwar's involvement with the doc, she said she was supporting him all the while, and couldn't be prouder of the 24-year-old.

"I was incredibly proud of him. He made this decision. He and Vin decided that they were going to make this film. They invested a lot into it. They went through a lot to make it. It was important for him to humanize Palestinians. I mean, he said it multiple times, that was one of his major goals for it. So, I'm just incredibly proud," Hadid said, gushing over her younger brother. "I'm super proud of my family, but I'm just really proud of Palestinians who have overcome obstacles, whether in the diaspora or on the ground. Look at what's happening in Gaza now. None of us would know what was happening if it wasn't for all of these amazing people like Bisan [Owda] and Motaz [Azaiza], and all of these people on the ground who literally risked their lives to tell the world what was going on."

She continued, "I'm just proud. I'm proud to be Palestinian. I'm also just proud of Palestinians and the resilience that sadly, we've had to have. But the joy that we find, and the telling of our story, no matter what, is just -- part of our DNA."

While she acknowledged that there's been a degree of backlash that comes with being pro-Palestinian -- sister Gigi was called out by the Israeli government over a meme she shared that they felt was antisemitic, and Bella and several other members of the Hadid family received hundreds of death threats following her pro-Palestine posts -- Hadid says it fuels her, to not only tell Palestinian stories, but to continue to push forward for a "Free Palestine."

"I mean, listen, it's never been safe to be Palestinian, and it's never been comfortable to be Palestinian. And that's intentional. We are intentionally silenced. We are intentionally intimidated. There are laws in the United States that make it uncomfortable for Palestinians and allies to speak about Palestine. So, it's never been comfortable. But I've always been taught to be proud of who I am and my culture and heritage, and to understand it fully," Hadid shared. "Every Palestinian has become an unintentional activist. We don't want to be brave and strong all the time. We don't want to have to be loud and boisterous about being Palestinian all the time. We'd love to just be able to say, 'Hi, I'm Palestinian.' And that could be it. For people to understand that that means that we're joyful, we're beautiful, we're cultural, we're, creative, and all of these amazing things about us."

"We get backlash, and it fuels me. It makes me stronger. It makes me excited to start educating those people who've been severely miseducated, misdirected, and purposefully put in a position where they weren't allowed to know anything about Palestine. So, I'm going to keep going," she added.

As for whether she thinks she will see a "Free Palestine" in her lifetime, Hadid said, "100 percent."

"Not only that, but I also feel like I will see not only a free Palestine but also a free Congo, a free Sudan, and a free Haiti. I want to see a free Hawaii and a free Puerto Rico. I want to see freedom and liberation for all people," Hadid maintained. "And that's what the free Palestine movement is. It's about liberating ourselves, decolonizing ourselves, and, in turn, decolonizing and liberating the world."

Walled Off will be available on all digital platforms May 3.