{"id":131747,"date":"2025-11-12T20:36:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T20:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/131747\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T20:36:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T20:36:11","slug":"john-leguizamo-melissa-barrera-executive-producing-traces-of-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/131747\/","title":{"rendered":"John Leguizamo, Melissa Barrera Executive Producing ‘Traces of Home’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWatermelon Pictures<\/a> has acquired North American distribution rights to topical documentary \u201cTraces of Home,\u201d which John Leguizamo<\/a> (\u201cThe Menu\u201d) and Melissa Barrera<\/a> (\u201cIn the Heights\u201d) have boarded as executive producers. The debut feature of Colette Ghunim world premieres at DOC NYC<\/a>, where it competes in the official section.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSpanning five years in production, the doc traces Ghunim\u2019s deeply personal journey of self-discovery as she seeks to reconnect her parents with the ancestral homes they were forced to abandon as children in Palestine and Mexico. Blending evocative animation with rarely seen archival footage, documentary is both a meditation on memory and an exploration of belonging, displacement and the quest to return home \u2013both physically and spiritually.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis documentary feels particularly urgent and personal for me \u2013 not only because of my love and deep connection to Mexico and Palestine, but because it premieres at a time where it is imperative to address the generational trauma that refugees and their families live with,\u201d said Barrera. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are living through and witnessing wars and dispossession at home and abroad and our communities are being directly affected. Through the lens of one Palestinian-Mexican family, the film poignantly articulates how a family can be affected and the importance of finding the tools to heal that trauma. I hope this documentary offers hope and shows a way forward to those who need it,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGhunim has crafted a stunning, tender, and vulnerable look at family in America today. She courageously unpacks the legacy of displacement as it is passed down through generations to reveal something truly profound,\u201d said Watermelon Pictures\u2019 head of production and acquisitions Munir Atalla, who negotiated the deal with Ghunim.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAcclaimed documentary editor-producer Sara Maamouri (\u201cThe Judge,\u201d \u201cA Revolution in Four Seasons\u201d) has also boarded as a producer and co-editor. \u201cIt\u2019s an honor to join forces with Watermelon Pictures on bringing \u2018Traces of Home\u2019 to North American audiences. Their remarkable work towards reshaping the mainstream narrative around Palestinian people and other underrepresented communities mirrors the heart of this film, she said.<\/p>\n

\n\tDan Rybicky and Capella Fahoome join Maamouri as producers while Keith Wilson and Dena Takruri executive produce. Four-time Oscar-nominated Kartemquin Films, whose credits include \u201cHoop Dreams\u201d \u201cA Good Man\u201d and \u201cAlmost There,\u201d is a co-producer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWatermelon Pictures\u2019 was founded in 2024 by brothers Hamza Ali and Badie Ali which, in its first year, snagged an Oscar shortlisting for its film \u201cFrom Ground Zero,\u201d Palestine\u2019s official entry to the 97th Academy Awards. In May this year, the company launched Watermelon+, a new streaming service showcasing a library of Palestinian and world cinema.<\/p>\n

\n\tDOC NYC takes place Nov. 12\u201330.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Watermelon Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to topical documentary \u201cTraces of Home,\u201d which John Leguizamo (\u201cThe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[54795,156,90633,68204,409,111,139,69,90634],"class_list":{"0":"post-131747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-doc-nyc","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-john-leguizamo","11":"tag-melissa-barrera","12":"tag-movies","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-newzealand","15":"tag-nz","16":"tag-watermelon-pictures"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}