TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets

Play trailer

1:05

TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets

Sep 2025

1h 15m

Documentary

War

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

TORN explores the controversy surrounding the "KIDNAPPED" poster campaign--a grassroots effort to raise awareness about hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. These posters quickly became polarizing symbols, sparking street-level clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists across New York City. The film unpacks the motivations of those who put up and tore down the posters, illuminating the deeper ideological battles unfolding thousands of miles from the actual conflict.

Erik Reeds

Spectrum Culture

TORN is so tepid, it’s unclear whether this is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, hiding its power level of pro-Israel sentiments, or if it’s just lackadaisically tone-deaf.

Sep 11, 2025

Full Review

Nora Lee Mandel

Maven's Nest

With high emotional quotient, Shapira’s in-depth look at reactions in 1st months is a useful reminder of the shock and initial confrontations. Insights include the creators of red-framed posters, distraught relatives and friend of murdered and kidnapped.

Rated: 7/10

Sep 7, 2025

Full Review

Christopher Campbell

Nonfics (Substack)

Torn: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets should serve as a reminder that images (including text) can contain multitudes. In support of its own theme, though, the film’s statement shall be divisive. That only proves it’s a success.

Sep 4, 2025

Full Review

Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

Illuminating, compelling and heartfelt.

Aug 31, 2025

Full Review

Stephen Silver

The SS Ben Hecht

A fine documentary about the phenomenon of people tearing down posters of the hostages in Gaza, and a rare post-October 7 nonfiction film that gives everyone their say.

Jul 17, 2025

Full Review

Christian Toto

HollywoodInToto.com

Compelling look at those who tore down posters of kidnapped men, women and toddlers.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 16, 2025

Full Review

Read all reviews

Judy L

Excellent Documentary. Still hard to understand why people would tear down photos of people taken hostage by a terrorist organization.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/21/25

Full Review

Elizabeth C

A very powerful movie.Fantastically produced and narrated.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/21/25

Full Review

Irv O

It was so interesting to hear from the artists who actually created these posters — and also to see how posters that were desectrated also evolved into a different kind of art. This gave the film structure I had not anticipated. It is an incredible snapshot of this difficult time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/17/25

Full Review

Joan B

A thoughtful and powerful documentary. Absolutely a must-see.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/17/25

Full Review

ELI N

A lackluster attempt at documenting what does seem like a narrative heavy moment. The October 7 documentary is already overrepresented, and this one in its trepidation fails to stand out from the batch.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/16/25

Full Review

Alessandro Hillel Z

“This should be in classrooms, community centers, synagogues, mosques — everywhere people have stopped talking. I’m not exaggerating when I say TORN changed the way I look at my city. I walk past those same walls every day, but now I see them differently. The posters may be gone, but the wounds are still there. Nim Shapira managed to make something that’s both deeply specific and totally universal — a film about posters that ends up being about the soul of New York, and maybe of all of us.”

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/11/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Nimrod Shapira

Director

Nimrod Shapira

Producer

Nimrod Shapira

Executive Producer

Elad Schanin

Executive Producer

Yarin Cerf

Executive Producer

Yuval Lion

Executive Producer

Kiss the Future

100%

98%

Kiss the Future

Watchlist

Rule of Two Walls

100%

%

Rule of Two Walls

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Rule of Two Walls

20 Days in Mariupol

100%

97%

20 Days in Mariupol

Watchlist

Apocalypse '45

100%

%

Apocalypse '45

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Apocalypse '45

2000 Meters to Andriivka

93%

%

2000 Meters to Andriivka

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets: Trailer 1

1:05

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

TORN explores the controversy surrounding the "KIDNAPPED" poster campaign--a grassroots effort to raise awareness about hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. These posters quickly became polarizing symbols, sparking street-level clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists across New York City. The film unpacks the motivations of those who put up and tore down the posters, illuminating the deeper ideological battles unfolding thousands of miles from the actual conflict.

Director: Nimrod Shapira
Producer: Nimrod Shapira
Distributor: Hemdale Film Corp. / Hannover House
Production Co: Metallux Studios, CRC Media
Genre: Documentary, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 5, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 1h 15m