‘No Other Land’ Co-Director Slams Academy’s Silence In Wake Of Hamdan Ballal Arrest

Earlier in the week, the Israeli Defense Force confirmed the arrest of "No Other Land” co-director Hamdan Ballal, on suspicion of throwing rocks and stones at settlers and soldiers.

Ballal, along with filmmaking partner Yuval Avraham, won this year’s Best Documentary Oscar for “No Other Land.” The drama all started when Avraham tweeted on X that Ballal had been “lynched” by settlers, and “kidnapped” by the IDF.

Avraham later updated that Ballal had been released by the IDF, and was back at home with his family. The release followed growing theories about Ballal’s well-being and whereabouts. Nobody really knew where he was.

Amidst all this chaos, the Academy remained silent, and that’s despite Avraham pleading with AMPAS to release a statement about the arrest.

Finally, a letter co-signed by Bill Kramer (CEO) and Janet Yang (President) sent to Academy members on Wednesday, seemingly in response to what happened to Ballal, condemned “harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints”, but also noted that the Academy represented “close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints.”

Avraham is now slamming Kramer and Yang’s letter, specifically pointing out how they failed to mention Ballal or the incident itself. It’s

“No Other Land” was never picked up for U.S. distribution, studios were too afraid to touch it, and yet it won an Oscar. Its filmmakers have Cinetic Media to thank for that as the publicity company decided to handle the film’s bookings at theaters across the country