The Academy of Motion Pictures has received backlash after issuing a statement seemingly intended to address the detention of Oscar-winning No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal without mentioning either the film or the filmmaker by name.
Earlier this week, Ballal’s co-director Yuval Abraham criticized the Academy for “refusing” to put out a public statement in support of Ballal, a Palestinian who was recently attacked by Israeli settlers and later detained by the Israeli military.
Seemingly in response to that criticism, a statement was sent out Wednesday evening signed by Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang.
It reads: “The Academy condemns harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints.
“We are living in a time of profound change, marked by conflict and uncertainty — across the globe, in the U.S. and within our own industry. Understandably, we are often asked to speak on behalf of the Academy in response to social, political and economic events. In these instances, it is important to note that the Academy represents close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints.”
Abraham reposted the statement on X, 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’.”
“They are say nothing,” responded one user. “literally just empty PR lip service.”
Another user wrote: “The Academy finally issued a statement and couldn’t be bothered to even mention Hamdan’s name. Not once. Worthless and hollow. It’s all so disgraceful.”
Ballal was reportedly released by Israeli authorities on Tuesday, a day after Abraham wrote on social media that the Palestinian artist had gone missing after being attacked.
“A group of settlers just lynched Hamdan Ballal, co-director of our film No Other Land,” Abraham posted on X. “They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since.”
Filmmaker Ballal and his co-directors Abraham, Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli director Rachel Szor, won the 2025 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for their film No Other Land, which depicts the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance that develops between Adra and Abraham.
On Monday, Ballal was reportedly beaten by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank before being arrested by the Israeli military.
The Avengers star Mark Ruffalo was among the actors who called on “every filmmaker and academy member” to protest the attack.
“No matter where you stand on this issue this is an attack on our beloved art form of filmmaking,” he wrote on Instagram. “Hamdan Ballal is a political prisoner and this is an international incident in violation of human rights.”
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