No Other Land Co-Director Condemns Academy’s Response to Violent Israeli Attack on Fellow Filmmaker
Occupied West Bank (Quds News Network)- The co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land condemned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its response to the violent Israeli attack on his fellow, Hamdan Ballal. Ballal was beaten by Israeli settlers and arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Monday.
Israeli forces released Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal on Tuesday after kidnapping him following a brutal attack by Israeli settlers in Susiya, a village in the occupied West Bank. Ballal, one of the co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary, suffered serious injuries before being detained by Israeli soldiers.
According to Ballal, the settlers beat him for about 20 minutes, leaving him bleeding heavily. Despite his severe condition, Israeli soldiers stormed an ambulance treating him and arrested him along with another Palestinian.
Filmmaker Basel Adra, who worked alongside Ballal on the documentary, shared a photo on social media showing Ballal in a hospital with blood stained clothes. Adra said Israeli settlers and soldiers beat Ballal, left him blindfolded and handcuffed, and later arrested him.
Human rights groups and eyewitnesses reported that an armed mob of Israeli settlers stormed Susiya on Monday. They vandalized Palestinian property before violently assaulting Ballal. According to the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, settlers struck Ballal in the head, causing heavy bleeding.
Adra, who witnessed the attack, said masked settlers carrying guns and stones attacked Palestinian residents while Israeli soldiers aimed their weapons at the villagers. “We returned from the Oscars, and every day since, we have faced attacks,” he told the Associated Press. He believes the violence is a form of punishment for making the film.
The Israeli military stated that it had detained three Palestinians for allegedly throwing stones during a “violent confrontation” between Israeli settlers and Palestinians. However, eyewitnesses denied this claim and accused soldiers of siding with the settlers.
Earlier this week, Israeli journalist and filmmaker Yuval Abraham criticised the Academy for failing to publicly speak out in support of Ballal. Now he has criticised a statement issued by the Academy to its members on Wednesday, in which it appeared to defend its silence.
The statement, signed by the Academy chief executive, Bill Kramer, and president Janet Yang, did not refer to the attack or mention Ballal or his documentary.
“The Academy condemns harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints,” the statement read. “We are living in a time of profound change, marked by conflict and uncertainty – across the globe, in the US and within our own industry. Understandably, we are often asked to speak on behalf of the Academy in response to social, political and economic events. In these instances, it is important to note that the Academy represents close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints.”
Posting a screenshot of the full statement on X on Thursday, Abraham criticised the Academy for failing to name Ballal.
“After our criticism, the Academy’s leaders sent out this email to members explaining their silence on Hamdan’s assault: they need to respect ‘unique viewpoints’,” he wrote.
after our criticism, the academy's leaders sent out this email to members explaining their silence on Hamdan's assault: they need to respect "unique viewpoints" pic.twitter.com/69mdp4aE9m
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) March 27, 2025
Abraham compared it to a “rightfully strong” statement made by the Academy in 2011 when the organisation condemned the arrest of six Iranian filmmakers by the Iranian government, including the detention of director Jafar Panahi.
compare this, which didn't even name Hamdan, to the academy's rightfully strong position when it's the Iranian government oppressing filmmakers: pic.twitter.com/tjpF8QqMv1
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) March 27, 2025
No Other Land, which won the 2025 Academy Award for Best Documentary, highlights the struggle of native Palestinians in Masafer Yatta against forced displacement.
The documentary has received international acclaim but also sparked Israeli outrage. A theater in Miami Beach even faced threats over screening the film.
Israeli violence in the West Bank has escalated since the genocide in Gaza began. Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians in military raids, and settler attacks have increased.
Masafer Yatta, where No Other Land was filmed, remains a flashpoint. Israel designated it a military training zone in the 1980s, ordering the expulsion of its native Palestinian residents. Though many remain, they face frequent demolitions and violence.
