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Documentary on Torn Down Hostage Posters to Open in Select NY, LA Theaters in September
Posters highlighting the plight of Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, are seen being torn down in New York. Photo: Provided
A documentary screening in select theaters in September focuses on the controversy surrounding the torn down posters that raise awareness about the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists after their attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War,” directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker and New Yorker Nim Shapira, chronicles the start of the now iconic “KIDNAPPED” poster campaign after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and how it turned into a point of conflict in New York City, leading to sometimes violent street confrontations between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists, some of the latter of whom torn down the posters across Manhattan. The 75-minute documentary “explores grief, identity, and the limits of empathy in today’s fractured public discourse,” according to a description of the film shared with The Algemeiner.
The documentary features interviews with 10 New Yorkers, including family members of hostages, the creators of the “KIDNAPPED” poster campaign, students, activists, a free speech expert, and a rabbi. “My hope – then and now – was that in New York, where we don’t have rockets or missiles flying overhead, we might be able to sit and talk. That we could create space for conversation, even disagreement, without violence,” said Shapira in a released statement. “TORN” is his first feature-length documentary.
“TORN’ began as an attempt to capture a moment when my home — New York City, where I’ve lived for the past 12 years – was being pulled apart,” the filmmaker added. “Not just by headlines, but by the emotional aftershocks of a war taking place thousands of miles away … What began as an act of solidarity [with the hostages] quickly spiraled into something far more layered: a symbolic ‘paper war’ that unfolded on the walls of New York.”
“The simple act of putting up or tearing down a poster became a political event, sparking confrontations across college campuses, neighborhoods, and social media,” Shapira noted. “Suddenly, the war in Gaza wasn’t distant – it was here, reflected on our lampposts, our subway stations, and in the heated arguments between strangers … In an era defined by polarization, ‘TORN’ is both a mirror and a spark: a reflection of how far we’ve drifted apart, and an invitation to sit, reflect, and speak-even across disagreement.”
The film will have its Oscar-qualifying theatrical run in select venues on Sept. 5. It will screen in additional cities throughout September and October, and a digital release is expected in December. More than 50 pre-release screenings are already scheduled across the US and Canada, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, and Miami.
“TORN” is being released by the indie label Hemdale Films, best known for the Oscar-winning classics “Platoon” and “The Last Emperor.” Following a decades-long hiatus, Hemdale relaunched under Hannover House, Inc. and “TORN” is its first release since the relaunch.
“We were waiting for the right film to reintroduce Hemdale,” said Eric Parkinson, CEO of Hannover House. “‘TORN’ is not only timely and awards-worthy — it’s the kind of bold, conversation-starting work that defines our legacy.”
Watch the trailer for “TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War” below.
The post Documentary on Torn Down Hostage Posters to Open in Select NY, LA Theaters in September first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.