The Academy has apologised for its initial response to the reported attack on ‘No Other Land’ co-director Hamdan Ballal, which drew the ire of the filmmakers and Academy members.
Following a hastily-convened emergency session of the governors on Friday morning, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang issued a statement.
“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,” they said.
“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.”
Palestinian filmmaker Ballal was reportedly attacked on Monday in the Masafer Yatta community of villages on the West Bank in an incident described by multiple sources. Israeli police confirmed Ballal was subsequently arrested and detained, before he was released the following day.
The incident sparked public comments from the likes of Berlinale, CPH:DOX, International Documentary Fund, and Channel 4. When Kramer and Yang reached out to members on Wednesday they condemned harm or suppression of artists based on their viewpoints, but did not mention Hallal by name, and implied the Academy did not comment publicly on such matters.
That angered Ballal’s fellow co-director Yuval Abraham, who was particularly incensed that the Academy did not refer to Ballal by name. Academy members were also upset and hundreds signed a statement expressing their feelings earlier on Friday.
According to Academy sources, the latest statement from Kramer and Yang had been in the works prior to the members’ letter and could only be released once the board convened.
Ballal is one of four co-directors from the Palestinian-Israeli collective behind No Other Land, alongside Abraham, Basel Adra, and Rachel Szor. The film won the documentary Oscar at the 97th Academy Awards on March 2 and depicts Masafer Yatta residents as they try to reconcile their existence with an Israeli programme to demolish homes in the area.
No US distributor has acquired the film. Cinetic Marketing worked with the filmmakers and hired Michael Tuckman’s mTuckman Media to book cinemas. To date, No Other Land has grossed more than $1.7m in the US, and an additional $700,000 through international distributors who licensed the film from Autlook.
No comments yet