Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian agency: Russia will conduct a nuclear test if the US does
Al-Nakhalah: We are the rightful owners, and we must fight to retrieve our rights
Al-Nakhalah: The enemy and its allies must know that we can never surrender to their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made
Al-Nakhalah: The prisoner exchange clause can be completed in the next few days, and thus we will have pulled the [explosion] fuse and removed the enemy's justifications for aggression
Al-Nakhalah: The Resistance has expressed its willingness to negotiate on the basis that there are items that can be dealt with positively, the first of which is the prisoner exchange item
Al-Nakhalah: Trump's plan entails the Palestinian people's declaration of complete surrender to the enemy
PIJ Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, in an address aired on Al Mayadeen: The Resistance is engaging in a fierce negotiating battle under the so-called Trump plan
Russian Federation Council approves joint military cooperation agreement with Cuba
Al-Nunu: Today, the lists of prisoners required to be released, the agreed-upon criteria and numbers, were exchanged
Al-Nunu from Sharm el-Sheikh: Negotiations focused on mechanisms for implementing an end to the war, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the exchange of prisoners

Hollywood slams Academy silence on assaulted Palestinian filmmaker

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 28 Mar 2025 23:16
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

Actors such as Joaquin Phoenix, Penelope Cruz, and Richard Gere expressed their dismay over the Academy's reluctance to speak out more forcefully.

Listen
  • x
  • APHamdan Ballal, Oscar-winning Palestinian co-director of "No Other Land," is checked at a hospital in Al Khalil, a day after being detained by the Israeli Occupation Fore following an attack by Jewish settlers in the village of Susiya in Masafer Yatta, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is under fire for its failure to defend No Other Land co-director Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian filmmaker who was recently attacked by Israeli settlers and detained by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank.

Ballal, whose documentary won Best Documentary at this year's Academy Awards, said he was assaulted earlier this week, held at gunpoint, and detained at a military center where soldiers referenced both his name and the word "Oscar" during shift changes. He was released on Tuesday after being held on accusations of "hurling rocks." Speaking to AFP, Ballal said the "brutality" of the encounter "made me feel it was because I won the Oscar." 

While several international film organizations promptly condemned the incident, the US-based Academy initially stayed silent. It later issued a letter to its members stating it condemned "harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints," but notably did not mention Ballal by name.

The vague nature of the statement triggered strong reactions within the film community. More than 600 Academy members responded with a signed letter criticizing the leadership's muted stance. "It is indefensible for an organization to recognize a film with an award in the first week of March, and then fail to defend its filmmakers just a few weeks later," they wrote.

The letter further stated, "We stand in condemnation of the brutal assault and unlawful detention of Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal by settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank." According to the signatories, the Academy's official response "fell far short of the sentiments this moment calls for."

Related News

Trump wants to slap 100% tariffs on movies made outside the US

Hollywood stars back Gaza film 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' at Venice

Actors such as Joaquin Phoenix, Penelope Cruz, and Richard Gere joined the outcry, expressing their dismay over the Academy's reluctance to speak out more forcefully.

Read more: France condemns attack of Oscar-winning Palestinian director

On Friday, Deadline reported that the Academy's board held an emergency meeting to address the growing backlash, though no new public statement has been issued. 

Ballal's co-director, Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham, also voiced his disappointment. In a post on X, Abraham criticized the Academy's email to members, writing, "After our criticism, the academy's leaders sent out this email to members explaining their silence on Hamdan's assault: they need to respect 'unique viewpoints'."

after our criticism, the academy's leaders sent out this email to members explaining their silence on Hamdan's assault: they need to respect "unique viewpoints" pic.twitter.com/69mdp4aE9m

— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) March 27, 2025

No Other Land, which documents the expulsion of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta—an area designated by "Israel" as a military zone in the 1980s—has yet to secure major US distribution despite winning the Oscar.

  • Hollywood
  • Oscars
  • Hamdan Ballal
  • No Other Land
  • Academy Awards
  • Yuval Abraham

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
Al-Quds Brigades strike a command and control center north of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, in an undated screengrab from the al-Quds Brigades military media

Gaza resistance announces major operations against Israeli forces

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Retired Israeli General Brik says Israel has reached point of no return.
Politics

Retired Israeli General Brik: 'Israel has reached point of no return'

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation
Politics

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation

Gaza’s newborns gasp for life as hospitals collapse amid Israeli war
Health

Gaza newborns gasp for life, share oxygen masks amid collapsed system

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls
Politics

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS