Timely doc “The Encampments,” which delves into the Columbia University Gaza Solidarity Encampment that grew into a wave of international student activism and subsequently sparked the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump, is now set for release in U.S. movie theaters.
Watermelon Pictures has announced a March 28 theatrical launch at the Angelika Film Center in New York, with a nationwide theatrical expansion to follow. “The Encampments” features Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil (pictured below), a recent Columbia graduate who was detained earlier this month by federal immigration agents in New York as part of Trump’s crackdown on students who have protested against the war in Gaza. A judge has ordered the Trump administration not to deport Khalil pending a legal fight over his detention.
Mahmoud Khalil in “The Encampments.”
Courtesy Watermelon Pictures
The doc — produced by Grammy-winning rap artist Macklemore and directed by BreakThrough News journalist and producer Kei Pritsker and filmmaker Michael T Workman — will world premiere on March 25, ahead of its theatrical release, at the CPH:DOX Film Festival in Copenhagen.
The Columbia University encampment started in April 2024, when roughly 50 students pitched tents on university grounds in an occupation that snowballed into an international protest movement.
“The Encampments” chronicles the protest’s escalation “from Columbia’s administration banning student organizations for Palestine to the mass arrests that broke a 50-year police ban on campus,” according to the provided synopsis. “As students faced police raids, media attacks and institutional repression, their movement spread to universities across the country and beyond, making history in real time.” The doc includes access to the student organizers at several encampments, and also to a whistleblower from high-up in the administration of an Ivy League university “who shares exclusive insights into what was taking place within the halls of the ivory tower as students protested down below.”
Khalil, who received his master’s degree from Columbia’s school of international affairs last semester, served as a negotiator for students as they bargained with university officials over an end to the encampment.
In a statement, directors Pritsker and Workman called “The Encampments” “a testament to the courage of young people to not only imagine a better world, but to fight for it in the face of violence and repression.” They added: “This film challenges the dominant media narrative by revealing the true spirit of the encampments — what it felt like to be there, the emotions that fueled the students and what motivated their drastic action.”
Added Macklemore, “Students have always led the charge for justice, from the sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement to the campus protests against South African apartheid. They’ve never been on the wrong side of history. The encampments that started at Columbia are part of that legacy, inspiring millions of people around the world.”
Courtesy Watermelon Pictures
“The Encampments” is a BreakThrough News production in conjunction with Watermelon Pictures and Macklemore. Producers on the doc also include Pritsker, Workman, Matthew Bele and Munir Atalla, with Benjamin Becker serving as executive producer.
Watermelon Pictures was founded in 2024 by brothers Hamza Ali and Badie Ali, with Alana Hadid leading the team as creative director. The company, which describes itself as being rooted in Palestinian culture and creativity, has released “From Ground Zero,” which was Palestine’s entry for the 2025 Oscars’ international feature film category, and Mahdi Fleifel’s “To a Land Unknown,” which premiered last year at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
