The Israeli-Palestinian documentary, No Other Land, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Shown at several festivals, the film has been a great success. In 2024 it had its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival and won both the Documentary Feature Award and the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary.
Directed by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists (Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor), the film shows how two of the film’s directors met: Basel Adra, a Palestinian activist fighting the eviction of his community in the West Bank, and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist. From this encounter a friendship developed and a shared struggle against the abuses of the Israeli army.
In his speech at the Oscar ceremony, co-director Yuval Abraham said, “Don’t you see that we are intertwined? My people will only be truly safe when Basel’s people are truly free and safe. It is not too late – for life, for the living. There is no other way.”
Article updated: 3/26/2025
On Tuesday March 24, Palestinian co-director Hamdan Ballal was attacked by Israeli settlers. They forced their way into his home and beat him up. The Israeli army then arrested him as he was being treated by an ambulance. Released on March 25, he is currently in hospital in Hebron.
Sources: Broadcast Pro, TV5 MONDE
