The Oscar award for Israeli-Palestinian documentary film “No Other Land” at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2, has received praise from Palestinians and Israeli peace activists and anger from the Israeli far-right government, due to its powerful depiction of life under occupation. The film has won dozens of prizes since its release last year, including at the Berlin Film Festival and the New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

Rachel Szor, from left, Hamdan Ballal, Basel Adra, and Yuval Abraham accept the award for best documentary feature film for “No Other Land” during the Oscars on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles (Footage: ABC News)

The documentary, co-directed by Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, Palestinian journalist Basel Adra, Israeli filmmaker Rachel Szor, and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham centers on Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and attempted forced displacement of the residents of the community of Masafer Yatta over a four-year period.

During his Oscar acceptance speech on Sunday night in Los Angeles, Adra said his film “reflects the harsh reality we have been enduring for decades and still resist as we call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.” “About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter is that she will not have to live the same life I’m living now.”

Adra called on the world to do more to stop the ethnic cleansing in Gaza, and Abraham said, “Together, our voices are stronger,” and called for the end of the “atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people,” and for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023. 

The anti-occupation activist community in Israel congratulated the win, including Combatants for Peace, which wrote on X “We share in their hope that this award will bring the film to millions of people and raise awareness about the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta and the occupied West Bank.”

Hadash MK Ayman Odeh, called the win “a powerful and important achievement”, adding that “we need a political solution that guarantees equal rights for both peoples. Because we have no other land”. MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash) wrote on X “Congratulations to Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham for their film ‘No Other Land’ which won the Oscars. In their acceptance speech, they emphasized the responsibility of the United States for the ongoing occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian lands. They stressed that only freedom for Palestinians can enable safety for both people. Listen to them and watch the film.” Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, agreed on V, “Hours after ‘No Other Land’ won the Academy awards, Israel occupation forces handed a demolition order for a school in Masafer Yatta. Even Shakespeare couldn’t have written such a travesty of justice. Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, and elsewhere, deserve liberation, they deserve to live free from occupation in their own sovereign state.”

However, Miki Zohar, Israel’s Minister of Culture and Sports, called the win a “sad moment for the world of cinema”, saying that “instead of presenting the complexity of Israeli reality, the filmmakers chose to amplify the narratives that distort Israel’s image vis-à-vis international audiences”. He added that the film was defamatory and represented “sabotage against the State of Israel” and called for reforms to cinema funding in Israel.