More than 500 members of AMPAS, including actor Mark Ruffalo, director Ava DuVernay and Oscar-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón, have signed an open letter condemning the Academy’s lack of public support for Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal following his recent detainment by Israeli authorities. The Academy released a statement Wednesday that condemned “harming artists” but failed to name which artists it was referring to.
The letter, released Thursday, calls out what the signees describe as AMPAS leadership’s failure to speak out in defense of Ballal, one of the co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land.”
“We stand in condemnation of the brutal assault and unlawful detention of Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal by settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank,” the letter reads. “To win an Oscar is not an easy task. Most films in competition are buoyed by wide distribution and exorbitantly priced campaigns… 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.”
In addition to public outcry from international film organizations, many prominent Academy members have added their names to the petition demanding support for Hamdan Ballal. In addition to numerous documentarians including Alex Gibney, Laura Poitras, Liz Garbus and Roger Ross William, members from the Academy’s Actors, Directors and Writers branches lent their names to the letter. Actors such as Olivia Colman, Joaquin Phoenix, Riz Ahmed, Penélope Cruz, Emma Thompson, Natasha Lyonne, Javier Bardem, Sandra Hüller, Richard Gere, Andrea Riseborough, and Susan Sarandon have signed in solidarity, emphasizing how Ballal’s treatment raises broader concerns about freedom of expression and artistic safety. Directors including Ava DuVernay, Boots Riley, Todd Haynes, Adam McKay, Jonathan Glazer, and Jim Jarmusch also joined the effort, underscoring the need for the Academy to stand by the filmmakers it honors.
Ballal was detained earlier this week following what witnesses described as a violent attack by Israeli settlers near his home in the West Bank village of Susiya. He was reportedly assaulted and then taken from an ambulance by Israeli forces. After 24 hours of being blindfolded and held at an Israeli army base, he was released Tuesday. Speaking to ABC News from a hospital, Ballal said he feared for his life during the attack. “They continue attacking me for 15-20 minutes. I bleed from everywhere… I feel pain in every part of my body.” He denied accusations of stone throwing and said the soldiers mocked him, referencing the Oscar win while detaining him.
While global film organizations, including the European Film Academy and the International Documentary Association, have released statements of concern, the Academy’s response came in the form of a non-specific message sent to members Wednesday night. Signed by CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang, the statement condemned “harming or suppressing artists” but did not mention Ballal or “No Other Land” by name. Co-director Yuval Abraham called the omission “deeply disappointing,” noting in a statement on X that internal efforts by members, especially within the documentary branch, to push for a statement naming Ballal were unsuccessful. “The Academy had a chance to show courage and solidarity, and it chose silence,” Abraham wrote.
According to sources, the Academy Board of Governors is holding an emergency meeting on Friday morning to discuss the backlash and whether it will take any further action.
The Oscar-winning “No Other Land” was made by an Israeli-Palestinian team including Abraham, Ballal, Basel Adra and Rachel Szor and chronicles the fight of a Palestinian community in the West Bank facing displacement by Israeli forces. The film premiered at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival, winning both the documentary jury prize and the audience award. Despite widespread acclaim on the festival circuit, it was self-released in the U.S. after distributors declined to pick it up.
Jazz Tangcay also contributed to this story.
