Sunday’s best documentary Oscar winner was surprising for a few notable reasons: “No Other Land,” a film co-directed by Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers, covers the forced expulsions of Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank from a vantage point largely unexplored in the world of U.S.-focused Western cinema. Both the win itself and the acceptance speeches were rare and powerful moments, when a harsh worldly reality inserted itself into an affair that is by nature performative, even self-indulgent.
The win is even more noteworthy given the filmmakers haven’t been able to find a distributor to work with them in the United States, and yet it has grossed more than any of the other Oscar-nominated documentaries this year.
While some rose in standing ovation, many attendees looked visibly nervous about what to clap for.
The documentary tells the story of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, a collection of villages in Hebron, being violently and systematically expelled through intimidation, from destroying water sources and other threats to assassinations. The film shows, among other devastating acts of violence, Palestinian co-director Basel Adra’s brother being killed.
Adra and Israeli Yuval Abraham, two of the four co-directors, spoke in accepting the award. Adra and his family are from Masafer Yatta.
“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 am living now, always fearing violence, home demolitions, forced displacement that my community, Masafer Yatta, is facing every day,” Adra said in his Sunday speech. “‘No Other Land’ 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.”
Abraham added: “We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger. We see each other. The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end; the Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of Oct. 7, which must be freed.”
The discomfort in the room was palpable. Practically no one clapped in response to Abraham’s comment about the destruction of Gaza and its people — to date over 46,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed, many of whom are women and children — whereas his comment about bringing Israeli hostages home was met with uproarious applause.
Nevertheless, Abraham persisted with his message:
“When I look at Basel, I see my brother. But we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law and Basel is under military laws that destroy lives, that he cannot control. There is a different path, a political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people. “And I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path. Why? Can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe? There is another way. It’s not too late for life, for the living.” While some rose in standing ovation, many attendees looked visibly nervous about what to clap for. Even if for just a few moments, Adra and Abahams accomplished a remarkable feat: They forced attendees and viewers at home to confront a reality that so many Palestinians continue to face. Some in attendance may have chosen not to clap, but those who watched couldn’t escape acknowledging a reality so many have attempted to belittle or deny.
Noor Noman is a writer focused on culture, race and LGBTQ issues. 
