‘No Other Land’ director Hamdan Ballal opens up about abduction: “My wife and I both thought I would be killed”
The co-director of Oscar-winning No Other Land, Hamdan Ballal, has opened up about the attack and abduction he experienced in March at the hands of Israeli settlers.
The attack occurred in the village of Susiya when a settler and “two soldiers” approached the filmmaker amid a separate settler attack. His abduction lasted a single evening, while news travelled globally and garnered much horrified attention.
News of his release came after his co-director, Yuval Abraham, posted an update on March 25th. The update read: “After being handcuffed all night and beaten in a military base, Hamdan Ballal is now free and is about to go home to his family.” A petition was created to free Ballal, which gained over 3,700 signatures, advocating for his release after he was reported missing after being attacked.
In a New York Times op-ed, Ballal referred to the event as “the worst moment of my life”. He elaborated on the shock and terror he felt on a “typical Ramadan evening” of March 24th: “I felt guns bashing my ribs. Someone punched me in the head from behind. I fell to the ground. I was kicked and spat on. I felt immense pain and fear.”
The director mentioned the difficulty of hearing his family in the moment: “I could hear my wife and kids screaming and crying, calling for me and telling the men to go away. It was the worst moment of my life. My wife and I both thought I would be killed. We feared what would happen to my family if I died.”
After he was beaten, Ballal recounted fear and waiting, as he was “handcuffed, blindfolded, and thrown into an army jeep. For hours, I lay blindfolded on the ground on what I later learned was an army base, fearing that I would be held for a long time and beaten again and again. I was released a day later.”
The New York Times piece also highlights the fruitlessness of winning awards for such a controversial topic in the face of the real-life conflict depicted: “It was as if the Oscars had never happened, as if the award didn’t mean anything,” Ballal wrote.
His piece ends with Ballal urging readers to stay engaged and informed about the crisis in the Middle East. “The messages and voices of support around the world have been overwhelming. I know that there are thousands and thousands of people who now know my name and my story, who know my community’s name and our story and who stand with us and support us. Don’t turn away now.”
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.