Academy Apologizes to No Other Land Director Hamdan Ballal

Several hours after Oscar voters spoke out against the Academy of Motion Pictures for not naming No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal in a letter that was seemingly in response to Ballal being attacked in the West Bank, the Academy has sent out another letter, apologizing for its lack of specificity in their statement. “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,” the Academy wrote in the letter. “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. We abhor the suppression of free speech under any circumstances.” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang signed off on the letter.

The original statement from Wednesday did not mention Ballal at all; on March 24, it was reported that Ballal was beaten by Israeli settlers and then arrested by the Israeli army. He was released on Tuesday. “The Academy condemns harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints,” the original letter read. “We are living in a time of profound change, marked by conflict and uncertainty — across the globe, in the U.S. and within our own industry. Understandably, we are often asked to speak on behalf of the Academy in response to social, political and economic events. In these instances, it is important to note that the Academy represents close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints.” Co-director Yuval Abraham acknowledged the apology shortly after it was posted on X. He wrote, “The American Academy just apologized to Hamdan for not mentioning his name after he was attacked by Israeli settlers. This came after intense pressure from 600+ principled academy members appalled by the initial response.”

Related

• Over 600 Oscars Voters Sign Letter Criticizing Academy Silence on Hamdan Ballal
• No Other Land Director Hamdan Ballal Freed Following Attack in West Bank