No Other Land facts for kids
Quick facts for kids No Other Land |
|
|---|---|
Festival release poster
|
|
| Directed by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Music by | Julius Pollux Rothlaender |
| Cinematography | Rachel Szor |
| Editing by |
|
| Studio |
|
| Release date(s) | 16 February 2024 (Berlinale) |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country |
|
| Language |
|
| Money made | $3.7 million |
No Other Land is a 2024 documentary film. It was directed by four people: Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor. This was their first time directing a film. The four directors are activists from Palestine and Israel. They made the film to show what was happening in their area.
The film was recorded between 2019 and 2023. It shows how a Palestinian community in the West Bank was affected. This community was trying to stay on their land after it was called an Israeli "firing zone".
No Other Land was made by both Palestine and Norway. It was shown for the first time on February 16, 2024, at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. There, it won two awards: the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film and the Berlinale Documentary Film Award. The film also won Best Documentary Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
Film Story
Basel Adra is a young Palestinian activist. Since he was a child, he has been working against the forced displacement of his people. This was happening in Masafer Yatta, a region in the West Bank. He filmed how his home area was slowly being destroyed. Israeli soldiers were taking down homes and making people leave. This was because a court said the area was a military "firing zone."
Basel became friends with Yuval Abraham, a Jewish Israeli journalist. Yuval helped Basel in his efforts. They formed a strong friendship. However, their lives were very different. Basel faced constant challenges, while Yuval had more freedom.
The film shows Basel and the people of Masafer Yatta facing Israeli forces. These forces were carrying out orders to demolish homes. During one event, a resident named Harun Abu Aram was shot by a soldier. He became paralyzed. Because his home was destroyed, he had to live in a cave. Harun Abu Aram later died from his injuries.
Yuval tried to make more people aware of the situation in Masafer Yatta. But it was hard to get quick results. Basel told Yuval to be patient. Basel wondered what would happen after people saw the videos they had filmed.
The film ends by showing Basel's cousin, Zakaria al-Adra. He was shot by an Israeli settler after the October 7 attacks. Zakaria was not carrying any weapons.
How the Film Was Made
Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham talked about making the film in an interview. Basel said that Yuval and Rachel, who are Israelis, came five years ago. Yuval was a journalist. They met and became friends. They also worked together as activists, writing articles about the area. Then, they got the idea to make this movie.
Yuval explained that Basel's family and neighbors had many videos. These videos were filmed over 20 years. Yuval, Basel, and Rachel also filmed a lot while working together for almost five years. Rachel was the main camera person and a co-director. So, there was a lot of video material.
The military entered Basel's home twice. They took computers and cameras. This made filming very stressful and difficult. But in the end, they managed to finish the film. The documentary was filmed over four years, from 2019 to October 2023.
Film Release
No Other Land was first shown on February 16, 2024. This was at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. It was also shown at other film festivals around the world. These included the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival in March 2024 and the 71st Sydney Film Festival in June 2024. It was also part of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024.
The film was shown at the 2024 New York Film Festival in October 2024. It was also selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024. However, its showings there were canceled because the festival could not get the needed permissions. The film was also shown at the 35th Singapore International Film Festival in December 2024.
Even after winning an Oscar and being picked up by distributors in 24 countries, the film had trouble finding a distributor in the U.S. This situation has been compared to a type of "soft censorship." The film had a special one-week showing in New York City starting November 1, 2024. This was to qualify for the Oscars. It also had a limited release in New York City on January 31, 2025, and in Los Angeles on February 7, 2025. In April 2025, the film became available to rent online in North America for three weeks. The money from these rentals helped the community of Masafer Yatta. Basel Adra said they made the film available online because their community still needed help.
Events
The settler who shot Zakaria al-Adra at the end of the film was identified as Yitzhak Nir. Nir said he was acting in self-defense. The police did not charge him. Nir's father and uncle were involved in an attack in 1983. The Israeli military destroyed Zakaria al-Adra's home in May 2024.
In February 2025, Basel Adra was beaten by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
On March 24, 2025, co-director Hamdan Ballal was attacked by Israeli settlers at his home in Susiya in the West Bank. He had head injuries. Soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces stopped the ambulance taking him to medical care. They held him for a day before letting him go.
More than 800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences signed a letter. They criticized the Academy for not publicly supporting Ballal after his arrest. The letter said that targeting Ballal was an attack on all filmmakers who show difficult truths.
See also
In Spanish: No Other Land para niños
- Submissions for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
- Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film
