Movies

‘No Other Land’ co-director Hamdan Ballal, bloodied and bruised, released from Israeli custody

BBG News

Hamdan Ballal, one of the two Palestinian filmmakers who jointly directed the Academy Award-winning documentary “No Other Land,” has been freed. He was discharged from Israeli custody on Tuesday, shortly after Israeli military and law enforcement officials apprehended him and three others following a violent assault by settlers in the contested West Bank region the previous day.

Ballal, who bore marks of injury with bruises on his face and bloodstains on his clothing, was freed from a police station situated within the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba. Following his release, the filmmaker communicated to the Associated Press that he had been detained at a military base, where he was compelled to sleep near an air conditioning unit.

He shared with AP that for a full day and night, he had a blindfold on. Throughout the cold hours of the night, he found himself in a pitch-black space. He couldn’t make out any sights, only the distant echoes of soldiers chuckling at his predicament.

Movies

As a movie critic, I’m deeply disturbed to share that I, along with my co-director, have experienced an unsettling incident. Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, who jointly created the Oscar-winning documentary ‘No Other Land,’ was physically assaulted by Israeli settlers and subsequently detained on Monday. This harrowing event underscores the challenges faced in our line of work and serves as a stark reminder of the complexities in the region we’ve chosen to document.

On Monday evening, Hamdan was apprehended following an incident in which a band of masked settlers stormed the Palestinian village of Susiya in Masafer Yatta region. According to Yuval Abraham, an Israeli co-director and journalist, these settlers assaulted Hamdan, targeting his head and abdomen. Additionally, Abraham claimed that soldiers entered the ambulance Hamdan called for help and took him into custody. Basel Adra, another Palestinian co-director of “No Other Land,” also reported on Hamdan’s detainment via a tweet on Monday, sharing a picture of an individual with their hands bound behind their back being led into a vehicle adorned with the Israeli flag. Adra stated that Hamdan remains unaccounted for as he was taken by soldiers, who reportedly caused injury and bleeding.

According to reports by Associated Press, Palestinian inhabitants claimed that armed settlers, some concealing their faces, others brandishing firearms, and still others donning military attire, launched assaults on residents while they were observing their fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

In a conversation with AP, the filmmaker’s spouse, Lamia Ballal, narrated her husband’s arrest and assault. She mentioned that she overheard her husband being brutally hit outside their residence and heard him cry out, “I’m dying.” According to Lamia Ballal, three men in uniform viciously attacked her husband with the butts of their rifles. She explained that the heightened attention surrounding their film “No Other Land” winning an Oscar earlier this month encouraged settlers to attack them more intensely.

On Monday, The Center for Jewish Nonviolence uploaded dashcam footage onto Bluesky, depicting an individual pushing and striking three people in a crowd, with one person receiving a punch. Later in the video, someone wearing a mask (their face hidden) is seen along with multiple others retrieving an object from the ground and throwing it at the vehicle, causing severe damage to the windshield. The footage was recorded by Anna Lippman, a representative of the activist group, who also shared images of a damaged vehicle with shards of glass in the passenger area on Twitter.

Review

In harrowing ‘No Other Land,’ journalists unite to chronicle a community under siege

Four Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers compile footage of the demolition of Masafer Yatta in the West Bank, transforming it into an impassioned plea for justice against occupation.

On my social media channels this past Monday, Lippman shared with The Times that a group of over a dozen settlers viciously attacked Susiya and damaged property. In addition to this, Israeli soldiers forcibly removed Ballal from an ambulance where he was being treated, and detained two other Palestinian men. As a passionate film enthusiast who closely follows such events, it’s deeply disheartening to witness these incidents unfolding.

On Monday, a representative from the Israeli Defense Forces provided their perspective on a clash that occurred. They stated that the conflict ensued following reports of individuals they identified as “assailants” who supposedly threw rocks at Israeli civilians and damaged their vehicles. The event featured a back-and-forth exchange of rock-throwing between Palestinians and Israelis, according to the statement.

According to the IDF’s statement, its members along with Israeli police acted to end the conflict, claiming that individuals they labeled as “agitators” threw stones at them. The spokesperson added that both military and police forces arrested a civilian believed to be involved in the altercation and transported all four detainees for further investigation. The IDF spokesperson also refuted claims that they had apprehended someone from within an ambulance. It was reported on Monday afternoon by The Times that Israeli authorities took Ballal into custody, accused of throwing rocks at both the military and police.

On Tuesday, the IDF spokesperson failed to promptly address The Times’ request for additional details regarding Ballal’s release and the current status of the other three captives. Similarly, the spokesperson did not provide an immediate response to The Times’ query concerning Ballal’s allegations about his detention conditions.

On Tuesday, the lawyer for Ballal and the other two Palestinian men who had been taken into custody didn’t promptly reply to a request from The Times.

Movies

Produced by a group of Palestinian and Israeli activist filmmakers, this Academy Award-nominated documentary offers a glimpse into daily existence under military control in a tiny West Bank settlement.

On Tuesday, Adra shared pictures of Ballal receiving treatment in a hospital. In his tweet, he stated that his fellow filmmaker had been brutally assaulted by soldiers and settlers across his body. He continued to assert that Israeli soldiers kept Ballal blindfolded and restrained during the entirety of his detention. The images depict Ballal on a medical examination bed with two healthcare workers nearby, one securing a blood pressure cuff around the director’s left arm. Dark patches resembling blood are visible on the sleeves and front of Ballal’s striped shirt.

A few weeks ago, Ballal was part of a team that included Adra, Abraham, and Rachel Szor – an Israeli filmmaker – as they received the award for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards. The movie, which has stirred up controversy in Miami Beach this month, focuses on Israel’s destruction of Palestinian villages in Masafer Yatta and the subsequent displacement of their communities to make way for Israeli military training zones.

Although U.S. distributors haven’t shown much interest, multiple theaters nationwide are showcasing “No Other Land.” This includes the Laemmle Theatres in Santa Monica and Glendale, as well as the Lumiere Theater in Beverly Hills. Additionally, the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival in Palm Springs is scheduled to screen the film on Friday at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

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2025-03-25 22:31

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