Oscars apologise for not supporting ‘No Other Land’ director Hamdan Ballal following uproar from over 800 voters

The Academy has issued an apology for not supporting kidnapped Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.

Ballal was released by Israeli authorities on Tuesday (March 25) after his co-director Yuval Abraham wrote on X/Twitter the day before that he had gone missing after being attacked.

On Wednesday (March 26), Abraham criticised the Academy in a post on X for not issuing their own statement of support for Ballal, writing: “Sadly, the U.S. Academy, which awarded us an Oscar three weeks ago, declined to publicly support Hamdan Ballal while he was beaten and tortured by Israeli soldiers and settlers.”

Shortly afterwards, The Academy released a statement condemning “harming artists”, but did not name any specific person.

In response, on Thursday (March 27), a letter began circulating among Academy members, criticising their failure to defend Ballal publicly. It was signed by over 800 members, including actors Mark Ruffalo, Olivia Colman, Joaquin Phoenix, Riz Ahmed, Penélope Cruz, Emma Thompson, Natasha Lyonne, Javier Bardem, Sandra Hüller, Richard Gere, Andrea Riseborough and Susan Sarandon.

Directors Ava DuVernay, Boots Riley, Todd Haynes, Adam McKay, Jonathan Glazer and Jim Jarmusch also joined the call for accountability, as well as Oscar-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón and documentary filmmakers such as Alex Gibney, Errol Morris, Laura Poitras, Liz Garbus and Roger Ross Williams.

“We stand in condemnation of the brutal assault and unlawful detention of Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal by settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank,” the letter reads.

“To win an Oscar is not an easy task. Most films in competition are buoyed by wide distribution and exorbitantly priced campaigns… For ‘No Other Land’ to win an Oscar without these advantages speaks to how important the film is to the voting membership. The targeting of Ballal is not just an attack on one filmmaker — it is an attack on all those who dare to bear witness and tell inconvenient truths.”

On Friday (March 28), the Academy then issued a follow-up letter to its 11,000 members, explicitly naming Ballal and apologising for omitting both him and the film from the earlier statement. It reportedly followed an emergency meeting on Friday morning with The Academy Board of Governors and top-ranking leadership officials to discuss their response to mounting backlash.

“On Wednesday, we sent a letter in response to reports of violence against Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land, connected to his artistic expression. We regret that we failed to directly acknowledge Mr. Ballal and the film by name,” the letter reads, per a report from Variety.

“We sincerely apologize to Mr. Ballal and all artists who felt unsupported by our previous statement and want to make it clear that the Academy condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world. We abhor the suppression of free speech under any circumstances.”

The message was signed by Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang.

The American Academy just apologized to Hamdan for not mentioning his name after he was attacked by Israeli settlers. This came after intense pressure from 600+ principled academy members appalled by the initial response. pic.twitter.com/RwRD6BGUg9

— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) March 28, 2025

Ballal directed No Other Land alongside Abraham, Basel Adra and Rachel Szor. The film chronicles the demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank between 2019 and 2023, and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2025 ceremony earlier this month.

In a statement to Sky News, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that on the evening of March 24, “several terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli citizens, damaging their vehicles near Susya”, and a violent confrontation broke out which involved “mutual rock-hurling between Palestinians and Israelis at the scene”.

They continued: “IDF and Israeli Police forces arrived to disperse the confrontation, at this point, several terrorists began hurling rocks at the security forces.”

“In response, the forces apprehended three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at them, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation. The detainees were taken for further questioning by the Israel police. An Israeli citizen was injured in the incident and was evacuated to receive medical treatment.

“Contrary to claims, no Palestinian was apprehended from inside an ambulance.”

Many in the entertainment world shared the story online, and called for Ballal’s release. Kneecap reacted with a post on X that read: “Beaten savagely by illegal Israel “settlers” and when the ambulance arrived to help him he was abducted by the IDF.”

Beaten savagely by illegal Israel “settlers” and when the ambulance arrived to help him he was abducted by the IDF.

This is Palestine every single day. A total and brutal occupation on every level imaginable.

FUCK US-BACKED ISRAEL pic.twitter.com/KAn0VUMSlZ

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) March 24, 2025

The latter claim is disputed by the IDF’s statement above.

They continued: “This is Palestine every single day. A total and brutal occupation on every level imaginable. FUCK US-BACKED ISRAEL.” The Irish rap trio have repeatedly spoken out against the conflict in Gaza, most recently hitting out at Israel after the breaking of the ceasefire last week (March 21).

In their Cover feature for NME last year, KNEECAP also made a stance against what they called Israel’s “occupation and genocide” of Gaza. They also helped raise nearly £100,000 for a volunteer gym in the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine, and loudly broadcast their message via social media and high-profile TV appearances.

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