The Academy apologises for not supporting No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal who was attacked and arrested by Israelis
Entertainment Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal who recently won an Oscar for co-directing No Other Land, was attacked by Israeli settlers and later arrested by Israeli military.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has apologised for not publicly supporting its Oscar-winner Hamdan Ballal after he was attacked by Israeli settlers and then detained by Isareli military.
Handan Ballal was one of the co-directors of No Other Land alongwith Yuval Abraham.
About the attack on Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal
Hamdan was attacked in his native village, Susiya which falls in the West Bank. Hamdan was at his house when the attack took place as several men wearing masks and with weapons attacked Palestinians. He was later detained by members of the Israeli military. He was later released but came back with “injuries to head and stomach”.
Following the attack, Following the attack, Academy leaders Bill Kramer and Janet Yang released a statement suggesting that the beating and arrest of Ballal is something Academy members will have “many unique viewpoints” on, refusing to name the filmmaker. They were criticised for not naming Hamdan and for their “lack of support” for the Palestinian filmmaker.
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Hamdan Ballal: filmmaker's assault ignites controversy over Academy's response
The Academy apologises
It led to several actors writing an open letter slamming The Academy for not supporting Hamdan Ballal at such a crucial juncture. They then apologised with a new statement to AMPAS members writing, “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,” they continued. “We abhor the suppression of free speech under any circumstances.”
