Film industry condemns attack on Palestinian Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal

No Other Land co-director received injuries to his head and stomach and his whereabouts are unknown

Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal with his Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for No Other Land. AFP

The global film industry has condemned the attack on Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal by a mob of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank on Monday night.

Ballal, who is credited as co-director of the documentary No Other Land, was attacked in his village of Susya, according to Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, who is also one of the directors of the film. Susya features heavily in the documentary, which follows the struggles faced by journalist Basel Adra as he and his community try to protect their West Bank village from Israeli settlers.

Abraham said Ballal received injuries to his head and stomach. The activist group Centre for Jewish Nonviolence said Ballal was being treated in an ambulance when Israeli soldiers detained him and a second Palestinian man. Their whereabouts are unknown.

“We express our unwavering support for Hamdan Ballal, Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham and the No Other Land team,” said Dubai film distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment, which recently acquired the rights to No Other Land in the Mena region.

“The disturbing reports about Hamdan Ballal’s serious injuries and subsequent disappearance are a call to action for us all. We cannot remain silent in the face of such injustice,” the company said, and urged the film industry to “unite in solidarity with those who dare to challenge the status quo”.

“Front Row Filmed Entertainment stands resolutely with the No Other Land team and calls for the immediate release and appropriate medical care for Hamdan Ballal. We urge the industry to uphold its values and reject double standards, advocating for what is human and just. Together, we can foster a world where every artist is free to express their truth without fear of retribution.”

The US-based International Documentary Association (IDA) also posted a message on Instagram. “We demand Ballal’s immediate release and that his family and community be informed about his condition, location and the justification for his detention,” it said.

No Other Land won Best Feature Documentary at the IDA Awards in December. It is one of many accolades the film has received, including best documentary at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Gotham Awards and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.

Hamdan Ballal being detained by the Israeli military from his home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. AP

Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo, who has been outspoken about his pro-Palestine views, reposted a news story about Ballal's attack on his Instagram stories. He also shared a speech by Hacks star Hannah Einbinder in which she said she was “horrified by the Israeli government’s massacre of well over 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza”.

Einbinder was speaking at an event where she was being honoured with the Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign.

“I am ashamed and infuriated that this mass murder is funded by our American tax dollars. It should not be controversial to say that we should all be against murdering civilians,” she said.

American comedian and actor Asif Ali also shared a story about Ballal's attack on his Instagram Stories.

A change.org petition was launched on Monday by a group of filmmakers demanding Ballal's release.

“We, members of the global film community, urgently appeal for the immediate release and safety of filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land, the recipient of this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature,” the petition reads.

“Reports that Mr Ballal was forcibly removed by the Israeli army from an ambulance following a brutal attack by settlers, and subsequently detained without clear information regarding his whereabouts, deeply alarm us. Such treatment of an internationally acclaimed filmmaker gravely undermines artistic freedom, human rights, and freedom of speech – core values vital to democratic societies. We urge immediate intervention to secure Ballal's safety, prompt release, access to his family and legal counsel.”

The petition was started by documentarian Lee Hirsch and has been signed by fellow American filmmakers Roger Ross Williams, Alex Gibney and Smriti Mundhra, as well as Brazilian director Julia Bacha, whose 2021 film Boycott looked at retaliatory laws against people and organisations engaged in boycotts of Israel-affiliated entities. At the time of writing, it had received more than 250 signatures.

The Berlin Film Festival, where No Other Land premiered and won best documentary last year, has called the incident “very distressing”.

“Our thoughts are with Hamdan,” the festival posted on its Instagram account. “The wellbeing and the security of our alumni filmmakers concerns the Berlinale community and we call for his safe return to friends and family. Furthermore, it is vital in open democracies that we safeguard the role of journalism and documentary filmmaking and protect its makers from reprisal and violence.”