Bella and Gigi’s activist sister Alana Hadid quits Palestinian film company over financial dispute

Alana Hadid has split with the Palestinian film company she helped launch following a financial dispute.

The 40-year-old, who is the older sister of supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid, joined Watermelon Pictures last year as the company’s creative director. 

The Palestinian film distribution company is dedicated to ‘amplifying bold voices from marginalized and underrepresented communities’, with a focus on Palestinian creators and stories. 

The company uses the slogan ‘from the river to the screen,’ which is a play on the political phrase, ‘from the river to the sea’.

In a lengthy statement shared to social media on Friday, Hadid claimed that funding had run out to support her role in the company, which had left her with no choice but to walk away.

‘It has been one of the greatest honors of my career to serve in this role, helping shape the company’s identity and champion the stories that deserved to be seen,’ she wrote. 

Activist Alana Hadid has split with the Palestinian film company she helped launch over a financial dispute

‘Though I was never a salaried employee or an equity holder, I took on this company as if it were my own because I believed so deeply in its mission. I thought this was my forever work and in many ways, it still is, which makes this moment all the more heartbreaking,’ she continued. 

‘I was recently told that there was no longer funding available to support my role in its current form. While that decision wasn’t mine, choosing to step away ultimately was.

‘As a Palestinian, I believe deeply in the value of our cultural labor, and I carry that principle into every space I enter.’

She added, ‘As a Palestinian woman, I am profoundly proud of the space I held in this company and to have been the only Palestinian woman on staff to launch the project was an honor.’

In a follow-up statement, Hadid stressed that she was still supportive of Watermelon Pictures and that she had in fact been paid during her time with the company. 

‘I support Watermelon Pictures, though I’m sad that I couldn’t stay on, business is business,’ she wrote.

‘I was being paid but I was on contract, which is different than having a salary. I was an independent contractor. Thank you all for the love and support, it was just important I let you know.’

The 40-year-old is pictured with her supermodel sister Bella Hadid in 2022

Hadid served as a creative director for Watermelon Pictures and used her sizeable social media following to earn the company major media attention

Daily Mail has contacted Hadid and Watermelon Pictures for comment.

Watermelon Pictures was founded by co-CEOs and brothers Badie Ali and Hamza Ali, with Hadid coming on board last year as creative director, although a lot of her role centered around being an unofficial brand ambassador. 

Thanks to her A-list family and large social media following (she boasts over 800,000 followers on Instagram), Hadid was able to use her influence to bring major media attention to the independent company.

Her exit comes just months after Watermelon Pictures hired former Walt Disney exec Nabil Kazi as their new EVP Of Marketing and Brand Development.

According to Deadline, Kazi was previously working as a consultant for the company, but has now been officially hired in the newly created role.

In May, Watermelon Pictures launched their own streaming service called Watermelon+.

They also just acquired the North American distribution rights to ‘The Six Billion Dollar Man’, a documentary on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The docufilm debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim.

A number of their films have received theatrical released and praise from critics.

One of the company’s earliest hits was the documentary Israelism, which follows two Jewish American filmmakers – including one former IDF soldier – as they learn more about the treatment of Palestinians and revise their own views on Israel.

The documentary topped the Apple TV charts upon its release and won multiple awards, but it was also criticized by Zionists and a number of pro-Israel groups, including StandWithUs, who said that it ‘spread anti-Jewish ideas.’

Hadid is the second daughter of Palestinian-American real estate mogul Mohamed Hadid and his first wife Mary Butler. 

Mohamed and Mary divorced in 1992 and Mohamed went on to wed Dutch model Yolanda Hadid in 1994, with the couple welcoming daughters Gigi and Bella as well as son Anwar before divorcing in 2000.

Hadid emerged as one of the most outspoken pro-Palestinian activists in America since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7

The activist is pictured at a ceasefire protest back in November, 2023

Much like her younger sisters, Alana has dabbled in the fashion industry over the years.

She spent time working in styling and PR, before launching an eyewear line in 2016 followed by a women’s fashion brand in 2017.

However, Alana seems to have finally found her true calling in Palestinian activism.

Her father Mohamed – who is now a multi-millionaire real estate developer – was born in 1948 in the city of Nazareth, Palestine (now Israel).

Mohamed has claimed that his family fled to Lebanon and then Syria due to the Israeli-Arab war of 1948, when the Jewish state was founded.

Around 760,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the Israeli-Arab war of 1948.

Many who stayed were killed, and in 2013 mass graves of Palestinians – some containing women and children – were uncovered in the Jaffa district of Tel Aviv.

Alana opened up about her passion for supporting Palestinians last year in an interview with The Cut to promote Watermelon Pictures. 

‘We are changing the ways in which we are viewed,’ Alana told the publication.

‘The entertainment industry has been dehumanizing Palestinians and Arabs for so long. I have friends who are actors and they could only get the role of the “terrorist” or the “taxi driver,” but never just the human, just the guy,’ she continued.

‘I want to see a Palestinian romantic comedy. We want to see Palestinians in the mainstream.’

Reflecting on the backlash she’s received from the pro-Israel crowd at times, Alana said, ‘I’m never surprised by the vitriol — by the hatred.’

She continued, ‘You’re not silencing me by trying to discredit me or telling me I’m ugly or something. If I’m the ugliest one in the hottest family in the world, I’ll take that.’