No Other Land, a joint Palestinian-Isreali documentary of a West Bank village under Israeli military occupation, took home the award for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
The award was accepted by the film’s co-directors, Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli investigative journalist Yuval Abraham. Hamdan Balla, a Palestinian filmmaker, and Rachel Szor, an Israeli cinematographer and director, also accepted the Oscar alongside Adra and Abraham.
No Other Land focuses on the expulsion of Palestinians from Masafer Yatta, a small community located in the Southern West Bank, as well as the friendship between Adra and Abraham, and was shot from 2019 to 2023. Some of the images include the destruction of homes by Israeli soldiers and expelling residents to create a military training zone, per Reuters.
In their joint acceptance speech, Adra and Abraham called for the world to take a stance against the treatment of Palestinians, and solidarity between Palestinians and Israelis against in
“About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter [is] she will not have to live the same life I am living now,” said Adra in his acceptance speech. “- always fearing certain violence, home demolitions and forced displacement that my community, Masafer Yatta, is living and facing every day under Israeli occupation”.
“No Other Land reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades and still resist, as we call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.”
“We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together, our voices are stronger,” said Abraham. “We see each other. The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people must end. The Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of Oct. 7, which must be freed.”
“Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7, which must be freed. When I look at Basel, I see my brother but we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law but Basel has to live under military laws that destroy his life and he cannot control,” Abraham continued. “There is a different path. A political solution. Without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people. And I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path.”
“Why? Can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe. There is another way. It’s not too late for life, for the living. There is no other way.”
No Other Land previously won the Berlinale Documentary Award, as mentioned by ABC News. Despite it’s critical acclaim and accolades, the documentary wasn’t able to find U.S. theatrical distribution, which the filmmakers have attributed this to local sensitivities surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The documentary relied on self-distribution instead, premiering in select independent cinemas, and digital screeners were made available for academy voters, per NBC News.
As mentioned by ABC News, Israel has occupied the West Bank since it’s Six-Day War victory in 1967. The demolition efforts of what Israel considers “illegal structures” have been taken to clear the way for Israeli settlers to move into the area.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
We’re now on BlueSky. You can now keep up with the latest AAPI news there and on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and X.
We are supported by generous donations from our readers and by such charitable foundations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
You can make your tax-deductible donations here via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Venmo. Stock donations and donations via DAFs are also welcomed.
