EXCLUSIVE: Traces of Home, the award-winning documentary debut of filmmaker Colette Ghunim, has set its U.S. theatrical release.
The film from Watermelon Pictures, executive produced by Melissa Barrera and John Leguizamo, will open September 18 at Angelika Film Center in New York City (a special preview screening will take place there on Sept. 16, followed by a Q&A with Ghunim and Barrera). Traces of Home opens in Los Angeles on Sept. 25 at the Laemmle Royal and Laemmle Glendale, before expanding to additional cities nationwide throughout October.
The documentary won the Grand Jury Prize in U.S. Competition at DOC NYC last November and earned Best Documentary Feature at the San Diego Latino Film Festival. We have your exclusive first look at the film in the trailer below.
Traces of Home “follows Ghunim as she travels with her parents to the homes they were forced to flee as children in Mexico and Palestine, transforming a personal search for connection into a wider examination of generational trauma, memory, and belonging,” notes a synopsis. “Filmed over five years and woven with evocative animation and archival footage, it is both a meditation on memory and an unflinching look at what it means to find our way back home to ourselves.”
In a statement, Ghunim commented, “Traces of Home was a transformational portal toward deep reconciliation, both with my family and within myself. It is not just a film; Traces of Home is sacred medicine, made for those called to heal generations of pain in their own lineage.”
“Colette has created something incredibly intimate and universal,” said Barrera, the Mexican-born actress known for Abigail, two of the Scream films, and In the Heights. “The film asks profound questions about identity, family, displacement and belonging, while never losing sight of the deeply human stories at its center. All of us can see a little of ourselves in Colette’s family and her journey and I can’t think of anything more important right now than finding points of connection between us all instead of continuing to sow divisiveness.”
Traces of Home is directed by Colette Ghunim and produced by Sara Maamouri, Dan Rybicky, and Capella Fahoome. Along with Melissa Barrera and John Leguizamo, executive producers include Keith Wilson and Dena Takruri. Cinematography is by Hosni Ghunim, Monica Wise and Rafic Saadeh; editors are Sara Maamouri, Loulwa Khoury, and Laura Moya. Omar Fadel composed the score.
Watermelon Pictures, based in Chicago, is “a film production and distribution company committed to amplifying the voices of underrepresented filmmakers across the globe through the powerful medium of storytelling. Rooted in Palestinian culture and creativity, the company was founded by brothers Hamza Ali and Badie Ali in 2024.” Its productions include The Voice of Hind Rajab, the film directed by Kaouther Ben Hania that earned an Oscar nomination for Best International Film, and American Doctor, an expected Oscar contender this year that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
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