UPDATE 9 AM ET 03/25 : Hamdan Ballal’s co-director Yuval Abrahamreportedthat he was freed from Israeli custody and was returning home.
Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian co-director of the documentaryNo Other Landthat won Best Documentary Feature at theOscars, has been kidnapped by Israeli soldiers, according to his co-directorBasel Adraand other eyewitnesses at the scene. He was reportedly beaten by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank before being hauled away.Adra told CNNthat he had rushed to Ballal’s home in the village of Susya after he received a distressed phone call from his colleague, only to see Ballal and at least one other person escorted from the premises, with some settlers throwing stones while Israeli police and military fired at bystanders to keep them away. At this time, it is currently unknown where he is located.
Regarding the incident, the Israeli military claimed to be responding to a “violent confrontation” between Israelis and Palestinians where two sides had been throwing stones at each other after “terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli citizens, damaging their vehicles.” Three Palestinians and an Israeli were among those detained for questioning, according to their report, while one Israeli citizen was also said to be evacuated for medical treatment. However, activists for the Center for Jewish Nonviolence and other witnesses who spoke out of anonymity to avoid reprisals disputed the claims to theAssociated Press,describing how a group of roughly 10-20 masked individuals used sticks, stones, and other weapons to beat Ballal and attack other activists at the scene, also slashing their tires and busting windows in an attempt to scare others away.Josh Kimelman, one of the activists in the group attacked, also claimed that Israeli police had stood by without taking action despite the activists explaining what was happening.
“We came back from the Oscars and every day since there is an attack on us,” Adra stated to the AP after the incident. “This might be their revenge on us for making the movie. It feels like a punishment.” Made by an Israeli-Palestinian collective,No Other Landdirectly addressesthe ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflictthrough the lens of a Palestinian family facing displacement amid the Israeli government’s destruction of Masafer Yatta. It especially highlights the alliance and friendship between Adra and co-director and Israeli journalistYuval Abrahamas they document the devastation by soldiers and settlers within the community. “A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co-director of our film ‘No Other Land,'” Abrahamsaid in a post on Xafter the alleged attack. Monday. “They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since.” Abraham was not a direct witness to the incident.
‘No Other Land’ Was a Critical and Box Office Success Despite the Circumstances
Because of its controversial subject,No Other Landfailed to land a U.S. distributor. That didn’t stop it from becoming the highest-grossingOscar-nominated documentaryof the year with $2.5 million earned. It also succeeded throughout its run on the festival circuit, winning both the Jury and Audience prizes at the Berlin Film Festival, where it made its world premiere, beforegoing on to earn more acclaimand awards throughout the fall in the lead-upto its big win. In addition to Adra, Abraham, and Ballal, the film was also co-directed byRachel Szor.
The Oscars offered an opportunity forthe production team to stand side by side with their awards and to call attention to the ongoing crisis within Gaza and violence against Palestinians. Adrasaid in their acceptance speech, “We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people. About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter that she will not have to live the same life I’m living now… ‘No Other Land’ reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades and still resist.” Abraham hit on the Israeli-Palestinian angle of the project, adding, “We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together, our voices are stronger,” he added. “We see each other, the destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end, the Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of Oct. 7, which must be freed.”
No Other Landbriefly played in U.S. theaters in New York starting on Jan. 31 and Los Angeles starting Feb. 7.
