The Israeli director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land has denounced the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its response to a violent attack on his Palestinian co-director, Hamdan Ballal, who was beaten by Israeli settlers and detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank on Monday.

Abraham criticized the Academy for its statement about the incident, which did not refer to the attack or mention Ballal or his documentary. He compared it to a stronger statement made by the Academy in 2011 when it condemned the arrest of six Iranian filmmakers.

Ballal, one of the documentary’s four directors, was released from Israeli detention on Tuesday. He told the Guardian he “thought I was going to die” when Israeli soldiers aided the settlers who attacked him. He also alleged that the incident was a retaliation for the documentary’s success.

Earlier this week, Basel Adra, another of No Other Land’s directors, told the Guardian that the film’s international recognition might have contributed to escalating settler violence in Susya.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/28/no-other-land-co-director-condemns-academys-letter-to-members-after-hamdan-ballal-attack-ntwnfb