Iris Indie to Host First-of-Its-Kind Global Live Video on Demand Premiere of Aleksandra Petrova's "In the Same Boat"

Documentary Highlights Stories Courage and Compassion by Israeli Arabs During the October 7 attacks

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Iris Indie announced today that it will host the first-ever global Live Video on Demand (LVOD) of Aleksandra Petrova's documentary In the Same Boat, which portrays the courage and compassion of Arab Israeli citizens and others during the aftermath of the October 7 tragedy. 

This commemorative event will take place at The Culver City Theater, 9500 Culver Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232, on October 16, 2025, at 4:00 PM PT and will stream concurrently.

Confirmed guests include:

• Director, Aleksandra Petrova
• Ksenia Svetlova, journalist, former member of Israel's Knesset, and CEO of ROPES, the Regional Organization for Peace, Economics, and Security, a nonprofit that connects young interfaith leaders in the Middle East.
• Hanoch Milwidsky, Likud member of Israel's Knesset
• Journalist Sonali Kolhatkar, KPFK, "Rising Up with Sonali"
• Danny Sussman, educator, Middle East expert and entertainment industry executive
• And others notable guests

Tickets to the online LVOD event are available at https://maestro.tv/irisindie/in-the-same-boat. Attendance at the physical screening at the Culver City Theater is on a first come, first seated basis.

In the Same Boat , directed by Aleksandra Petrova and produced by Arvut Production in association with Aldamisa Entertainment, tells the story through the voices of survivors and first responders – highlighting moments when people from different communities came together with a single purpose — to save lives.

"The people we met — police officers, bus drivers, doctors, nurses, a gas station worker, festival goers — spoke not only of the fear and horror of that day, but also of how they came to help despite their fear," said director Aleksandra Petrova. "In those terrifying moments, Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel stood side by side: lifting the wounded, driving strangers to safety, and returning again and again for those left in the attack zone. Deep inside, there was no question of whether to save or not — they left their families to help complete strangers, sometimes at the cost of their own lives. Their courage and solidarity are the heart of this film."

"The Iris Indie LVOD event is built for remembrance and dialogue," said Milena Rimassa, President of Iris Indie Global. "By synchronizing a live theater screening with a global, interactive online experience, we invite audiences to engage directly with the director, survivors, first responders, health care workers, community leaders and subject matter experts, in real time. Guests will include prominent journalists, historians, educators, interfaith leaders and other voices are essential to framing both the loss and the hope that emerged from October 7. This is a new kind of space for a story that demands both empathy and facts."

For Arvut Production, the partnership reflects their guiding philosophy. "Arvut means mutual responsibility — the idea that people are bound together and accountable for one another," the company said in a statement. "That principle guided every decision we made. We're grateful to Iris Indie for creating a platform where stories of rescue across lines — religious, ethnic, national — can be heard, honored, and remembered."

The October 16 event will mark Iris Indie's inaugural LVOD , produced in collaboration with technology partners LiveControl and Maestro. Maestro is an interactive video platform while LiveControl provides cloud-operated, real-time video production that enables broadcast-quality live streaming. Together, they provide the Iris Indie LVOD infrastructure. Each live event will combine theatrical intimacy with global accessibility, bringing together filmmakers, actors, and notable others to engage in-person and online in real time.

Iris Indie Global develops, finances, and distributes feature films and documentaries with cultural and social resonance. The documentary will be offered to global licensors at the upcoming American Film Market, to be held in Los Angeles from November 11-16, 2025. Iris Indie will be in Suite 1037.

SOURCE Iris Indie International, LLC