The documentary No Other Land gets an Oscar nomination brings back the spotlight on the harrowing realities of life under Israeli occupation in the West Bank. Co-directed by Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham and Palestinian journalist Basel Adra, the documentary has earned a nomination for Best Documentary at the 96th Academy Awards, scheduled for 10 March.
The film, set in the embattled town of Masafar Yatta, offers a deeply personal narrative interwoven with archival footage from Adra’s childhood. Much of the footage features his activist father standing firm against Israeli soldiers and settlers attempting to appropriate Palestinian land. Despite its critical acclaim, No Other Land has struggled to secure a distribution deal in the United States, a reflection of what critics have described as a restrictive climate for films challenging Israel’s policies.
The documentary first gained international attention last year when it won the Documentary Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. During their acceptance speech, Abraham and Adra used the platform to denounce Israel’s occupation of Palestine, igniting a wave of controversy. “I am free to move where I want in this land, but Basel, like millions of Palestinians, is locked in the occupied West Bank. This situation of apartheid between us, this inequality, it has to end,” Abraham declared, drawing sharp criticism from German politicians.
Berlin’s official cultural portal also faced backlash after it described the film as containing “antisemitic tendencies,” a label the filmmakers and their supporters vehemently rejected. Abraham later told Middle East Eye that Germany’s rigid stance on pro-Palestinian activism was silencing voices, including those of Jews and Israelis advocating for peace.
The challenges for No Other Land extend beyond Europe. In the US, the film has faced hurdles in finding distributors, a struggle attributed to an entertainment industry atmosphere that some say suppresses criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Filmmaker Brady Corbet, while accepting an award from the New York Film Critics Circle earlier this month, voiced his frustration with the industry. “And the last thing I want to say is that it’s time to distribute No Other Land,” he urged.
The Oscar nomination places the documentary on one of the world’s largest cultural stages, but the controversy surrounding its message underscores the complex intersection of art, politics, and free expression.
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