While now released from prison, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has drawn backlash from its members for its lack of support for No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal. Ballal, along with Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor, found acclaim for their documentary chronicling the destruction of a West Bank Palestinian community, even bringing home the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film. Shortly after their victory, both Adra and Ballal found themselves attacked by Israeli settlers, with the latter also detained by the Israel Defense Forces after being taken from his ambulance, being released the following day.

Now, Variety reveals that 690 Academy members have signed a letter critiquing the Academy’s troubling response following Ballal’s detainment. The group, some of whom include Mark Ruffalo, Ava DuVernay, Alfonso Cuarón and Joaquin Phoenix, note their issues with the Academy’s first response failing to name both Ballal and No Other Land, before going on to condemn the attacks made on him and his directing team, lamenting it as “an attack on all those who dare to bear witness and tell inconvenient truths“, and promising to “continue to watch over this film team.” See the full letter below:

On 26 March 2025, the leadership of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences emailed its membership a statement with the subject line, “Our Global Film Community.” The statement was ostensibly responding to the detention of Palestinian filmmaker and 2025 Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winner Hamdan Ballal, one of the directors of “No Other Land,” although it failed to mention either Ballal or the film by name, nor did it describe the events it was responding to.

The statement by Bill Kramer and Janet Yang fell far short of the sentiments this moment calls for.

Therefore, we are issuing our own statement, which speaks for the undersigned members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

We stand in condemnation of the brutal ᴀssault and unlawful detention of Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal by settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank.

As artists, we depend on our ability to tell stories without reprisals. Documentary filmmakers often expose themselves to extreme risks to enlighten the world. 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.

To win an Oscar is not an easy task. Most films in compeтιтion are buoyed by wide distribution and exorbitantly priced campaigns directed at voting members. For “No Other Land” to win an Oscar without these advantages speaks to how important the film is to the voting membership.

The targeting of Ballal is not just an attack on one filmmaker—it is an attack on all those who dare to bear witness and tell inconvenient truths.

We will continue to watch over this film team. Winning an Oscar has put their lives in increasing danger, and we will not mince words when the safety of fellow artists is at stake.

The Academy has since released a follow-up statement in response to the letter from their membership, which began by directly naming “Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land” and expressing their regret for having “failed to directly acknowledge Mr. Ballal and the film by name“, going on to apologize for this and ᴀssuring they “abhor the suppression of free speech under any circumstances.” See the full Academy follow-up response below:

On Wednesday, we sent a letter in response to reports of violence against Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land, connected to his artistic expression. We regret that we failed to directly acknowledge Mr. Ballal and the film by name. We sincerely apologize to Mr. Ballal and all artists who felt unsupported by our previous statement and want to make it clear that the Academy condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world. We abhor the suppression of free speech under any circumstances.

What This Means For The Academy

Academy Members Are Willing To Challenge Their Leadership

This strong response from so many Academy members indicates that people in the film world are willing to stand up to the industry giants. Names on the list of signatures include actors like Mark Ruffalo and Sandra Oh and directors such as Ava DuVernay and Alfonso Cuarón. Several cinematographers, documentarians, executives, and more joined these artists in asking the sometimes-controversial Academy to do better. In the letter, the signees also declared that they will not “mince words” when the safety of “fellow artists is at stake,” indicating that they are committed to justice for Ballal and his fellow filmmakers.

That over 600 members of the AMPAS are involved in the response letter indicates that the Academy must catch up with its membership. While the artists were willing to take a risk and speak loudly about Ballal, his film, and his team, the governing body opted for a more neutral statement. Members acknowledged that No Other Land‘s win has now put Ballal and his crew in danger, despite the praise of the film. Notably, No Other Land was not picked up by any distributors in the United States, despite the documentary winning an Academy Award.

Our Take On The Backlash From Academy Members

The Academy Should Have Done Better With Its Initial Statement

In writing and signing this letter, the members of the Academy have shown that they are devoted to justice and the truth. The initial statement from the Academy was not specific and failed to condemn the actions of the Israeli soldiers who abused Ballal. A better response would have been to directly address Ballal and No Other Land, which hundreds of actors, directors, and other industry members have recognized. These hundreds of Academy members displayed that they are willing to stand up to their governing body in moments of injustice.

Source: Variety