{"id":562694,"date":"2026-07-22T14:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T14:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/562694\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T14:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T14:52:09","slug":"zoe-saldana-boards-short-film-its-complicated-as-ep-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/562694\/","title":{"rendered":"Zoe Salda\u00f1a Boards Short Film ‘It’s Complicated’ as EP (Exclusive)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tOscar-winning actress Zoe Salda\u00f1a<\/a> has boarded the narrative short It\u2019s Complicated as an executive producer ahead of its world premiere at the HollyShorts<\/a> Film Festival in August.<\/p>\n

\n\tWritten, produced by and starring Iman Karram, It\u2019s Complicated follows Yara, a Palestinian-American screenwriter in Los Angeles, whose online Arabic lessons with Hana (Dina Shuhaiber), a poet and teacher living in Gaza, blossom into a profound friendship built on shared ambition, humor, and sisterhood. \u201cWhen war suddenly tears them apart, Yara must confront grief, diasporic guilt, and the responsibility of using her voice to ensure Hana\u2019s story is not forgotten,\u201d reads a plot synopsis.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film is directed by Darine Hotait and produced by Karram, Alana Duqum, Zoe Marie Jimenez, and Matt Van Tine, with Kais Karram and Zane Karram of Malibu Mutt Studios among the producing team. Eli Zavala of Splinter Pictures also serves as an executive producer.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIman has made a deeply personal film about identity, grief, sisterhood, and the responsibility artists feel to carry the stories of their communities forward,\u201d said Salda\u00f1a, who won an Oscar in 2025 for her performance in Emilia Perez. \u201cI was moved by the tenderness of the relationship at the center of the film and by Iman\u2019s commitment to telling a story rooted in Palestinian womanhood with honesty, humor, and heart. I\u2019m proud to support her voice and the team behind It\u2019s Complicated as the film begins its festival journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018It\u2019s Complicated\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHollyShorts Film Festival<\/p>\n

\n\tKaram said the project is \u201cdeeply personal.\u201d She continued: \u201cIt was inspired by a real relationship with my Arabic tutor that profoundly reshaped my understanding of identity and how I want to use my voice as an artist\u2026 Growing up in the diaspora, it can sometimes feel like you are disconnected from your roots, or even like an imposter within your own community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat began as online Arabic lessons with Hana grew into a friendship and a Palestinian sisterhood that made me feel truly seen from the other side of the world. She welcomed me into a culture I didn\u2019t grow up experiencing firsthand, but one that has always been an integral part of who I am. She made me feel enough, exactly as I am, and gave me the courage to embrace my voice, stand in my values, and tell the stories that are important to me,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\n\tHotait\u2019s film marks the latest collaboration between emerging Palestinian filmmakers and internationally acclaimed talent, with Salda\u00f1a lending her support as the project prepares to make its debut on the festival circuit.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s Complicated will have its world premiere at the 22nd HollyShorts Film Festival, taking place Aug. 13\u201323, 2026, in Los Angeles. The Oscar-qualifying festival will showcase more than 400 short films from around the world.<\/p>\n

\n\tWatch the trailer for It\u2019s Complicated below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oscar-winning actress Zoe Salda\u00f1a has boarded the narrative short It\u2019s Complicated as an executive producer ahead of its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":562695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,93,237750,61,60,51549,60071],"class_list":["post-562694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-hollyshorts","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-zoe-saldana","tag-zoe-saldau00f1a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}