No Other Land: a timeline of defiance, festival acclaim and a filmmaker's assault

The National

26-03-2025

The journey of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land to the big screen continues with more twists and turns. Since its premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival, the film – co-directed by Palestinians Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal, and Israelis Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor – has drawn acclaim and criticism for its uncompromising portrayal of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation. Responses have ranged from sold-out screenings at international film festivals in Australia and North America to an attempted ban on a scheduled showing in Miami Beach, Florida. Events took a darker turn on Monday when Ballal was assaulted by more than a dozen masked Israeli settlers before being arrested by Israeli forces. With No Other Land set to be shown in regional theatres – after its acquisition by Dubai distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment – below is a timeline of key events surrounding the documentary. 2019: No Other Land took four years to film beginning in 2019, with production reportedly wrapped up only days before the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. The arduous process was made even more challenging because it was independently produced, with footage captured by the filmmakers using their own cameras and phones. This included Adra filming from within his occupied Palestinian village of Masafer Yatta, documenting scenes of demolition by the Israeli army and incursions by illegal settlers, while Abraham filmed from inside Israel, including in Jerusalem. 2024: The documentary has its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, winning the Panorama Audience Award – a harbinger of the international and public acclaim that would follow. In his acceptance speech, Adra drew attention to the dire conditions faced by Palestinians, particularly those in Masafer Yatta. "I'm here celebrating the award, but it's also very difficult for me to celebrate when tens of thousands of my people are being massacred by Israel in Gaza," he said. "Masafer Yatta, my community, is also being bulldozed by Israeli forces. I ask one thing: for Germany, as I'm here in Berlin, to respect the calls of the UN and stop sending weapons to Israel." The Berlin Festival triumph led the No Other Land team to be invited to other prestigious festivals – including in Toronto, New York and Busan. January 2025: No Other Land receives an Oscar nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category. By this point, its inclusion on the shortlist came as little surprise within industry circles – especially after it had already won Best Documentary at New York's Gotham Awards the previous month, a significant milestone given the event is considered the kick-off to Hollywood's major awards season. The Oscar nomination is all the more remarkable as the film was – and remains – without a US distributor. March 2: No Other Land wins Best Documentary Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards – the first Oscar for a Palestinian production. The achievement is all the more striking given the film was shunned by US studios and self-distributed in American cinemas, despite securing distribution in 24 countries, including the UK and France. "It's such a big honour for the four of us and everybody who supported us for this documentary," co-director Adra said in his acceptance speech. "About two months ago, I became a father. I hope my daughter will not have to live the same life I'm living now – always fearing settler violence, home demolitions, and forced displacements that my community and I face every day under the Israeli occupation. "This is the harsh reality we have been enduring for decades – and still we resist, as we call on the world to take serious action to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people." March 13: Steven Meiner, mayor of Miami Beach, attempts to terminate the lease and pull public funding from O Cinema, an independent picturehouse in the city, for showing No Other Land. The mayor publicly urged the cinema to cancel screenings of the documentary, which continues to be independently distributed by the filmmakers to select cinemas across the US after being shunned by studios. March 16: Dubai film distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment acquires the rights to No Other Land in the Middle East. According to chief executive Gianluca Chakra, the documentary will be released in cinemas and on streaming platforms, with release dates to be announced soon. "In a world filled with dominant narratives, it is essential to consider diverse viewpoints,' he said. "This film offers a unique perspective, bringing together filmmakers united by a just vision. The footage presented is both striking and unparalleled. We have a duty to make sure it reaches audiences." March 19: Miami Beach mayor Steven Meiner drops his plan to terminate the lease and withdraw public funding from O Cinema for screening No Other Land after five city commissioners oppose his proposal. Meiner had drawn global attention, particularly from the filmmaking community, which viewed the move as a troubling precedent aimed at restricting free speech. Speaking to the Miami Herald, Meiner defended his actions, saying he viewed the screening 'as a public safety threat'. Miriam Haskell, the lawyer representing O Cinema, told the same outlet that the right decision had been reached, describing the mayor's attempt as a clear case of 'viewpoint censorship'. March 24: Ballal is assaulted by more than a dozen masked Israeli settlers marauding through his home village of Susiya in the occupied West Bank. The National's Jerusalem correspondent Thomas Helm reports that the attack ended with Ballal's arrest – along with two other Palestinians – by Israeli forces. While in detention, Ballal was treated for injuries to his head and stomach. 'He was attacked by soldier-settlers and then abducted by soldiers, so we have no idea what happened,' Adra told The National. March 25: Ballal and two other Palestinians detained with him are released from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba. Ballal has bruises on his face and blood on his clothes, and the three are driven to a hospital in the neighbouring Palestinian city of Hebron, Associated Press journalists at the scene report. Their attorney, Lea Tsemel, says they spent the night on the floor of a military base while receiving only minimal care for the injuries they sustained in the attack. She had earlier said they were accused of throwing stones at a young settler, allegations they deny.