Harun Nasrullah
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been forced to apologise after facing sharp criticism for its lack of support following the assault on Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal. The Oscar-winning director of No Other Land was attacked by illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank in late March, and his subsequent detention by Israeli forces sparked outrage across the film industry.
The apology follows an intense backlash from over 600 Academy members, including major Hollywood stars like Joaquin Phoenix, Penélope Cruz, and Richard Gere, who accused the Academy of failing to adequately defend Ballal and other filmmakers under threat.
Ballal’s attack on March 24 was particularly chilling—he was assaulted by settlers and detained by soldiers after being stopped while receiving medical care in an ambulance. No Other Land had won Best Documentary at the Academy Awards, but despite its global recognition, the Academy remained silent on the incident for days.
It wasn’t until March 27 that the Academy issued a letter to members condemning violence against artists. However, the letter did not name Ballal, nor did it explicitly address the specifics of his case. This muted response sparked widespread outrage.
On March 29, over 600 Academy members signed a joint statement condemning the Academy’s failure to act. The letter noted, “It is indefensible for an organisation to recognise a film with an award in the first week of March and then fail to defend its filmmakers just a few weeks later.”
The members called for a more forceful statement, saying that the Academy’s response “fell far short of the sentiments this moment calls for.”
In light of the mounting pressure, the Academy convened an extraordinary board meeting on March 29 to address the crisis. Later that day, it issued an apology to Ballal and the broader filmmaking community. The letter stated: “We regret that we failed to directly acknowledge Mr. Ballal and the film by name.”
The Academy reiterated its commitment to condemning violence and supporting free speech but acknowledged that its initial response had been insufficient.
In an interview after his release, Ballal reflected on the brutality of the attack, stating that it felt like “revenge” for his Oscar win. During his detention, Ballal overheard soldiers mentioning his name in relation to the word “Oscar” during shift changes, reinforcing the suspicion that the attack was linked to the film’s international success.
No Other Land documents the forced displacement of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, an area in the West Bank that Israel declared a military zone in the 1980s. Despite winning a prestigious Oscar, the film has struggled to secure distribution in the United States.
The assault on Ballal has sparked global outrage, with multiple film organisations and individual filmmakers voicing their support for the director. The Berlin Film Festival, where No Other Land premiered and won Best Documentary, described the incident as “very distressing.” Similarly, the International Documentary Association called for Ballal’s immediate release, along with a strong condemnation of the violence.
Abraham, co-director of No Other Land, was among the first to speak out against the Academy’s handling of the situation. On X, he shared a screenshot of the Academy’s response, criticising its focus on “unique viewpoints” rather than taking a firm stance on the assault.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of increasing violence against Palestinian activists and filmmakers. In February, Palestinian journalist Basel Adra was also assaulted by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Although the Academy has now apologised, it remains to be seen how it will address the concerns raised by Ballal’s supporters, and whether it will take steps to protect filmmakers facing similar threats in the future.
Photo: Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor pose with the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for No Other Land at the Governor’s Ball after the 97th Academy Awards, weeks before Ballal was assaulted by Israeli settlers in the West Bank—a case that drew fierce criticism of the Academy’s delayed and muted response.
(Credit: Mike Blake/Reuters/CC)
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