Palestinian-Israeli film on displacement of Palestinians wins an Oscar

Palestinian-Israeli film No Other Land won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscar ceremony last night.

The film was produced by a Palestinian-Israeli collective and follows the story of a Palestinian activist who befriends an Israeli journalist to help him in his plight for justice as his village in Masafar Yatta comes under attack as a result of Israel’s occupation of the area.

It is the directorial debut of Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who described it as an act of resistance on the path to justice.

Taking to the stage at the ceremony yesterday, Adra said: “About two months ago, I became a father and my hope to my daughter that she will not have to live the same life that I have to live now, always fearing settler violence, home demolitions and forcible displacement that my community, Masafar Yatta, is living and facing every day under the Israeli occupation.”

His words were met with loud applause.

Abraham added: “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, and Basel is under military laws that destroy his life and he cannot control. There is a different path. A political solution without ethnic supremacy.“

Calling for international action to change things on the ground for Palestinians, Abraham added: “The foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path.. Can’t you see that we are intertwined, that my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly safe and free?”

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The documentary was filmed over four years between 2019 and 2023. It has previously won a number of accolades including the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film and the Berlinale Documentary Film Award at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival.

Ahead of the awards ceremony, pro-Palestine protestors blocked many of the roads used to get to the Oscars, slowing traffic.

Human rights group Code Pink noted they were “outside of the Oscars in LA protesting against Hollywood’s complicity in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.”

HOLLYWOOD YOU CAN’T HIDE: WE CHARGE YOU WITH GENOCIDE!

As Hollywood arrives to the Oscars in their limousines, we’re sending them a message they cannot ignore: Palestine will be free! pic.twitter.com/lTtdIgD3WO

— CODEPINK (@codepink) March 2, 2025