The film No Other Land just won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards, marking the first time a Palestinian filmmaker has ever won an Oscar. The documentary is co-directed by award-winning Palestinian filmmaker, lawyer, and activist Basel Adra alongside Yuval Abraham, an Israeli filmmaker and investigative journalist from Jerusalem, Rachel Szor, an Israeli cinematographer, editor, and director from Jerusalem, and Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian photographer, filmmaker, and farmer from Susya. Selena Gomez and Samuel L. Jackson gave the award to the filmmakers. Despite all this, the film is not streaming in the U.S., and doesn’t even have a distributor here.
The documentary is an intimate portrait of West Bank families who suffer constant destruction, surveillance, harassment, and threats from Israeli military forces and settlers. No Other Land is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Best Documentary award at the Berlin International Film Festival, but the Academy Awards give the film and the atrocity it documents a spotlight that few filmmakers ever have. In the best Oscars moment in years, if not decades, during the filmmakers’ acceptance speech, Basel said:
“About two months ago I became a father and I hope for my daughter that she won’t have to live the same life I’m living now always fearing settler violence, home demolitions, and forced displacement that my community in Masafer Yatta is living and facing every day under Israeli occupation. No Other Land reflects the harsh reality we have been enduring for decades and still resist. We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.”
Basel Adra is at the heart of No Other Land, as are his conversations and activism with Yuval Abraham, whose friendship is the soul of the film. Yuval Abraham said during their acceptance speech:
“We made this film as Palestinians and Israelis, because together, our voices are stronger. We see each other. The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end. The Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7, which must be freed. 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 that he cannot control. There is a different path, a political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people.”
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“And I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path,” added Abraham to thundering applause from the audience in attendance, many of whom wore pins to exemplify their solidarity with Palestinians, including Best Supporting Actor nominee and The Brutalist star, Guy Pearce, wearing a dove-shaped ‘Free Palestine’ pin. “Why? Can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can only be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe? There is another way. It’s not too late for life, for the living. There is no other way.” Watch their full awards speech below:
No Other Land tells the painful story of Israel’s destruction and forced expulsion of the Palestinian village Masafer Yatta in the West Bank. The documentary shares Basel’s real-life story of developing an unlikely alliance with Israeli journalist and co-director Yuval Abraham as they both stand up to Israel’s attacks against Masafer Yatta.
U.S. Distributors Have Been Too Cowardly to Pick Up ‘No Other Land’
It’s a testament to the risk-averse, conservative, and frankly cowardly nature of U.S. distributors that none of them have picked up No Other Land. It’s even more patently absurd considering that the film has made more money than any other documentary in 2024 despite not having any U.S. distribution. That’s thanks to the word-of-mouth campaign, its numerous awards, the film’s utter quality, the importance of its message, and the tireless work of overseas distributors like Dogwoof Releasing in the United Kingdom (you can stream the movie through Dogwoof here if you live in the UK).
Other distributors of the film include Filmtrade (Greece), ImmerGuteFilme (Germany), L’Atelier Distribution (France), Synapse Distribution (Brazil), Wanted (Italy), Falcon Pictures and KlikFilm (Indonesia), and Midas Filmes (Portugal). But not a single U.S. distributor has stepped up. As Marc Tracy of The New York Times writes:
“The selection of No Other Land for best documentary feature represented a landmark and a rebuke. Despite a string of honors and rave reviews, no distributor would pick up this film in the United States, making it nearly impossible for American filmgoers to see it in theaters or to stream it.”
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Almost every year around this time, I’ll hear at least one person respond to Oscar nominations or wins by saying, “I haven’t heard of any of these movies.” While that reflects a failure of curiosity common in most people, it’s also damning evidence for the state of film distribution and marketing in America. The same tired franchises will have teaser posters, teasers to the teaser trailer, teaser trailers, multiple trailers, final trailers, featurettes, clips, and interviews strewn across television, the internet, and billboard spaces leading up to their actual release. While everyone is likely aware that a franchise like Mission Impossible has another film in the pipeline, hardly anyone is aware of half the Oscar-nominated movies.
People often like to spout off about “merit,” especially in sports and politics. In a world where merit actually existed, more people would be aware of 2024 films like No Other Land, Flow, and I’m Still Here than they would Borderlands, Madame Web, or Uglies. Unfortunately, Hollywood likes safe bets, but with declining box office returns and increasing audience indifference, it’s well past time for a little courage.
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If you’re in Los Angeles or nearby areas, you can screen No Other Land and meet the filmmakers, while also supporting Rebuilding Alliance, a non-profit that works on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza. On Monday, March 3rd, 2025, from 5pm to 9pm, you can meet and greet the Oscar-winning filmmakers, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor at the Jackson Market located at 4065 Jackson Ave, Culver City. Basel’s family and Nasser Nawaja will be in attendance, as well — all featured in the film! Join them for iftar dinner, unlimited moonlight mocktails, knafeh, and community! This event is sponsored by The M Film Lab, Latino & Muslim Unity and co-sponsored by Entertainment for Palestine. Get tickets here.
You can donate to Rebuilding Alliance here. No Other Land continues to screen at Film Forum in New York, along with another masterful Best Documentary feature nominee, Soundtrack to a Coup d’état. Get tickets and information here. The filmmakers recently sat down with the brilliant Twitch streamer Hasan Piker for a technically troubled but nonetheless insightful interview; you can watch that below:
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
