Los Angeles, March 3, 2025: “No Other Land”, a documentary co-directed by an Israeli-Palestinian collective, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. The film follows Palestinian activists resisting home demolitions by the Israeli military in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron.
Filmed between 2019 and 2023, No Other Land highlights the forced evictions of Palestinian residents as the area is repurposed into a military training ground. Despite winning the Berlinale documentary award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2024, the film struggled to secure U.S. distribution and was ultimately released independently.
The Academy’s decision to honor the documentary brought renewed attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, coming 17 months after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack and amid the ongoing crisis in Gaza, where dozens of Israeli hostages remain captive.
Upon receiving the award, Palestinian co-director Basel Adra called for global action against what he described as the “ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”
“No Other Land reflects the harsh reality we have endured for decades. We continue to resist and urge the world to take serious action to end this injustice,” Adra said.
Israeli co-director Yuval Abraham, a journalist, emphasized the imbalance between their realities:
“We made this film—Palestinians and Israelis—because together our voices are stronger. We see each other. The atrocities in Gaza must end. The Israeli hostages must be freed.”
“When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal,” Abraham continued. “I live under civilian law while Basel is subjected to military law that destroys his life. True safety for my people is only possible when Basel’s people are free.”
Israel’s Culture Minister Miki Zohar criticized the film’s win, calling it a “sad moment for cinema” and accusing it of distorting Israel’s image.
“Instead of presenting Israel’s complex reality, the filmmakers amplified narratives that misrepresent the truth,” Zohar wrote on X. “Freedom of expression is vital, but using the defamation of Israel as a tool for international promotion is not art—it is sabotage.”
Similarly, Meir Deutsch, director general of the Israeli NGO Regavim, dismissed No Other Land as “propaganda”, claiming it aimed to delegitimize Israel and encourage international boycotts of the IDF.
The Oscars also saw political expressions outside the ceremony. American actor Guy Pearce, who starred in The Brutalist, wore a “Free Palestine” pin, stating:
“It’s the least we can do. I always try to recognize Palestine and push for the support it desperately needs.”
Meanwhile, anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Elsewhere in the ceremony, Adrien Brody won Best Actor for portraying a Holocaust survivor in The Brutalist—two decades after earning the same award for The Pianist, another acclaimed Holocaust film.
