鈥楴o Other Land鈥 wins Oscar for best documentary

Basel Adra, from left, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, and Yuval Abraham accept the award for best documentary feature film for "No Other Land" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 鈥淣o Other Land,鈥 the story of Palestinian activists fighting to protect their communities from demolition by the Israeli military, won the Oscar for best documentary on Sunday.

The follows activist Basel Adra as he risks arrest to document the destruction of his hometown at the southern edge of , which Israeli soldiers are tearing down to use as a military training zone. Adra's pleas fall on deaf ears until he befriends a Jewish Israeli journalist who helps him amplify his story.

鈥淲e made this film as Palestinians and Israelis because, together, our voices are stronger," said Israeli journalist and filmmaker Yuval Abraham. He used his acceptance speech to call out his country's government for what he called 鈥渢he atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people.鈥 And he urged Hamas to release all Israeli hostages.

鈥淣o Other Land鈥 came into the night a top contender after a successful run on the film festival circuit. It did not, however, find a U.S. distributor after being picked up for distribution in 24 countries. For the Oscar, it beat out 鈥淧orcelain War,鈥 鈥淪ugarcane,鈥 鈥淏lack Box Diaries鈥 and 鈥淪oundtrack to a Coup d鈥櫭塼at.鈥

The documentary was filmed over four years between 2019 and 2023, wrapping production days before Hamas launched its that started the war in Gaza.

In the film, Abraham embeds in a community fighting displacement, but he faces some pushback from Palestinians who point out his privileges as an Israeli citizen. Adra says he is unable to leave the West Bank and is treated like a criminal, while Abraham can come and go freely.

鈥淲hen I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal,鈥 Abraham said on stage. 鈥淲e live in a regime where I am free under civilian law and Basel is under military laws that destroy his life. There is a different path, a political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people.鈥

United States foreign policy under President Donald Trump is 鈥渉elping to block this path,鈥 he said.

The film is heavily reliant on camcorder footage from Adra's personal archive. He captures Israeli soldiers bulldozing the village school and filling water wells with cement to prevent people from rebuilding.

Residents of the small, rugged region of Masafer Yatta band together after Adra films an Israeli soldier shooting a local man who is protesting the demolition of his home. The man becomes paralyzed, and his mother struggles to take care of him while living in a cave.

鈥淏次元官网网址 two months ago, I became a father," Adra said Sunday. 鈥淢y hope to my daughter (is) that she will not have to live the same life I鈥檓 living now, always fearing settlers, violence, home demolitions and forcible displacements. We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice."

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