Director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay’s new feature follows a second assistant director trying to save a production that spins out of control when a copy of the Koran is burnt on set.

The film is being released via a partnership between Dark Star Pictures and a newly formed distribution arm of BLacklight.

With a name like “Beat It,” you might think MJ is trying to start up some mess, but in fact, he wrote the song to take a stance against violence. The song itself is Jackson telling a young boy who ...