Oscar-winning documentary ‘No Other Land’ criticised by Palestinian rights group
The Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land has been slammed by a Palestinian rights group, who accuse the production of violating the terms of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The film, which won ‘Best Documentary Feature’ at the 2025 Oscars and was directed by an Israeli-Palestinian collective, allegedly violated BDS guidance that opposes working with Israeli companies operating in the occupied West Bank, as well as companies it deems complicit to Israel’s campaign, according to the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
The PACBI said No Other Land failed to comply with “anti-normalisation” guidelines that make the Israeli “occupation, apartheid, and settler colonialism seem normal and establishing normal relations with the Israeli regime.”
This row has been sparked following the film’s seismic recent win at the Oscars, in which Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham said in his acceptance speech: “We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together we are stronger,” referencing co-directors Hamdan Ballal, Basel Adra, and Rachel Szor.
He continued: “We see each other. The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end, the Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of October 7th, which must be freed.”
Abraham then urged the American government to shift its policy, imploring them: “Why can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can be truly safe if Basel [Adra]’s people are truly free and safe. There is another way. It’s not too late for life, for the living. There is no other way.”
The film depicts the atrocities of the war in Gaza, despite which, set in the West Bank, friendship blossoms between Palestinian activist Adra and Israeli journalist Abraham.
No Other Land has not secured distribution in the US, leading to support from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who said: “The American people deserve the right to see this film.”
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