Oscar-Winning Filmmaker Brutally Attacked: Is This Israel’s Revenge for ‘No Other Land’ Success?
In a shocking and disturbing turn of events, Israeli settlers brutally assaulted Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, one of the co-directors behind the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, before he was detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. The attack, witnessed by fellow co-director Basel Adra and others, has sent shockwaves through the international film and human rights communities.
Adra, who was present at the scene, described a horrifying scene where around two dozen settlers—some masked, some armed, and some in Israeli military uniform—stormed the Palestinian village of Susiya. As the settlers launched their attack, Israeli soldiers allegedly pointed their guns at Palestinians rather than stopping the violent mob. Stones flew, chaos erupted, and in the midst of it all, Ballal was heard screaming: “I’m dying!”—his cries echoing into the night as his wife listened helplessly.
No Other Land, which took home the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, has ignited controversy since its release. The film captures the harrowing reality of life under Israeli occupation in Masafer Yatta, where the military systematically demolishes Palestinian villages to clear the way for settlement expansion. Its critical acclaim has been matched by backlash—most notably in Miami Beach, where officials attempted to shut down a theater screening the film.
Now, just days after the Oscars, violence has erupted against the very people who exposed these brutal truths to the world. Coincidence? Or retaliation? Adra doesn’t think so. “We came back from the Oscars and every day since, there is an attack on us. It feels like punishment,” he told reporters.
Adding to the escalating crisis, video footage provided by the Center for Jewish Nonviolence shows masked settlers ambushing activists, smashing car windows, and slashing tires. The Israeli military, in its response, claimed to have detained three Palestinians for allegedly throwing stones, a claim that witnesses adamantly deny. Meanwhile, Ballal and his fellow detainees have been taken to a military base—allegedly for “medical treatment”—but have been cut off from legal representation and the outside world.
This brazen act of violence raises urgent questions: How far will Israel go to silence voices of resistance? Is this a warning shot for Palestinian storytellers daring to speak their truth? As the world watches in horror, one thing is clear—this is more than just an attack on a filmmaker. It is an attack on the right to document, to resist, and to tell the stories that oppressive systems would rather keep hidden.
