Shami frames this as a mission-driven partnership — independent voices, global platforms, art with impact. Empire and Watermelon share DNA: both disruptors giving space to underrepresented creators. This is about the documentary's message reaching audiences worldwide.
Insiders note Shami isn't just licensing music anymore — he's positioning Empire as a full production partner. The Gaza doc angle is deliberate; Watermelon has built momentum with politically charged Oscar-shortlisted films like From Ground Zero and Palestine 36. This partnership signals Empire wants skin in the prestige film game.
The collaboration was announced at Cannes Film Festival on May 13, 2026 by Shami alongside Badie and Hamza Ali, co-founders of Watermelon Pictures. Previous Empire-Watermelon project Palestine 36 featured a 36-track companion soundtrack with Shami serving as executive producer. American Doctor won both the Amnesty International Award AND Peter Wintonick Audience Award at Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival.
Ghazi Shami isn't just dipping his toes into film — he's making a statement. And when your first major doc exec produce is set in an active war zone with three physicians of different faiths risking everything to help civilians, that's not subtle. Empire's pivot to prestige film is officially underway.
GHAZI SHAMI IS GETTING INTO THE FILM BUSINESS, and he's not easing in quietly. The founder and CEO of Empire — the San Francisco-based independent label that famously distributed Kendrick Lamar's debut Section.80 and built a roster spanning Nigerian superstar Asake to K-Pop icon G-Dragon — has signed on as executive producer of American Doctor, Poh Si Teng's Sundance documentary about three American physicians traveling into Gaza to provide medical care during active conflict.
Shami announced the partnership alongside Badie and Hamza Ali, co-founders of Watermelon Pictures, which is handling North American distribution for the film. The reveal dropped at Cannes Film Festival Wednesday night. American Doctor follows a Palestinian doctor, a Jewish doctor, and a Zoroastrian doctor as they navigate one of the world's most volatile war zones to deliver care where it's needed most.
Director Poh Si Teng premiered the documentary at Sundance before taking it through SXSW, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, and Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival — where it snagged both the Amnesty International Award and the Peter Wintonick Audience Award. Watermelon is planning a full domestic theatrical release this summer with an aggressive awards campaign attached. This isn't Empire's first rodeo with Watermelon Pictures.
The two companies previously collaborated on Annemarie Jacir's Oscar-shortlisted drama Palestine 36, a period piece about the Arab revolt against British colonial rule. On that project, Shami served as executive producer while Empire compiled a staggering 36-track companion soundtrack. That success appears to have paved the way for this deeper partnership — with Shami telling The Hollywood Reporter that Empire is looking to broaden its role with Watermelon "with music licensing, soundtracks, with anything we can do." "I'm thrilled to be here in Cannes alongside the Watermelon Pictures team celebrating this film and everything they've built," Shami said.
"What Watermelon Pictures has accomplished in such a short time is truly inspiring. Both Empire and Watermelon were founded on the belief that independent voices deserve global platforms. American Doctor is one of the most important documentaries I've seen in years, and I'm proud to join the project as it continues connecting with audiences around the world." Hamza Ali framed the expansion as a meeting of minds: "Ghazi is someone who has consistently broken barriers and created space for independent voices to thrive on a global scale.
To have him join American Doctor after our collaboration on Palestine 36 is deeply meaningful. There's a shared mission between our companies rooted in culture, storytelling, and creating real impact through art." Founded in 2010, Empire has built itself into the largest privately-held independent record label, distributor, and publisher in the United States — handling everything from hip-hop heavyweights like XXXTentacion to international acts. Watermelon Pictures launched in 2024 but has moved fast, serving as producer or distributor on multiple Oscar-shortlisted films including From Ground Zero, Palestine 36, All That's Left of You, and Kaouther Ben Hania's Best International Feature nominee The Voice of Hind Rajab. Poh Si Teng herself chimed in with a statement that emphasized the significance: "To stand alongside Hamza Ali, and now Ghazi Shami, two bold visionaries whose work speaks for itself, is both deeply comforting and exciting."
