A landmark Oscar win for Palestinian-Israeli documentary 'No Other Land'

At the 2025 Academy Awards, No Other Land made history by winning the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, a groundbreaking moment for Palestinian cinema and a rare recognition of the struggle against occupation. 

The film, which chronicles the forced displacement of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, prevailed over a strong field of nominees, including Porcelain War (about artists surviving the war in Ukraine) and Black Box Diaries (from Japanese filmmaker Shiori Ito, confronting sexual violence). 

While the Academy has a history of awarding politically charged documentaries, few have ever directly confronted the realities of Israeli occupation, making No Other Land a landmark achievement. 

The film’s co-directors, Palestinian journalist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, delivered one of the most politically charged acceptance speeches in recent memory, calling for an end to ethnic cleansing and recognizing the brutal inequalities between Palestinians and Israelis under Israeli occupation. 

Their speeches call for a political solution beyond ethnic supremacy, resonated across the ceremony, a moment that once seemed unthinkable at the Oscars.

“'No Other Land' reflects the harsh reality that we’ve been enduring for decades and still persists as we call on the war to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

The journey of No Other Land is as extraordinary as its win. 

Basel Adra had been filming his home region of Masafer Yatta for years, documenting the demolitions and settler violence that his community faced daily. 

Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist, saw the importance of Adra’s footage and collaborated with him to create a documentary that would challenge mainstream narratives. 

Their collaboration itself is symbolic of the stark divide that exists between Palestinians and Israelis—while Adra’s movement is restricted by military law, Abraham enjoys the freedoms of civilian law, a disparity they directly highlight in the film. 

When the documentary premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, Adra’s journey to attend took over 30 hours due to military checkpoints, whereas Abraham traveled freely, underscoring the very injustices their work seeks to expose.

The film is raw, personal, and immediate, constructed largely from real-time footage shot over five years. 

The cinematography is an extension of the filmmakers’ activism, with the camera often shaking as it follows protests, demolitions, and confrontations. This kinetic energy immerses the audience in the harrowing reality of life under occupation. 

Critics have praised this immersive style, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it a “devastating portrait” of life under occupation that nonetheless points toward “a future where Palestinians are just as free as Israelis”. At the same time, RogerEbert.com described the film as turning “the camera into a weapon for truth and resistance.” 

Audiences, too, responded with enthusiasm – the film won audience awards at multiple festivals, including Berlin, where it first made waves.

Despite this acclaim, No Other Land struggled to secure U.S. distribution due to its politically sensitive content, highlighting the very barriers that marginalized voices face in global cinema. 

It was only through a one-week qualifying run in New York that the film became eligible for the Oscars, contrasting sharply with how easily American and British films find global distribution.

The film’s win also reflects the urgent reality in Palestine today. The very title comes from a villager’s poignant question – if they lose this land, where do they go? 

As recently as days before the Oscars, Adra posted videos of Israeli forces demolishing homes in Masafer Yatta, reinforcing that No Other Land is not just a historical account but an ongoing crisis captured in real time. 

His speech on stage carried the weight of that reality, as he spoke about his hope that his newborn daughter would not have to endure the same life of fear and displacement:

“About two months ago I became a father and my hope to my daughter that she would not have to live the same life I’m living now, always fearing settler violence, home demolitions and forcible displacements that my community Masafer Yatta is living and facing everyday on the Israeli occupation.”

Abraham’s words added another layer of poignancy, acknowledging the deep-rooted inequalities between Israelis and Palestinians, and challenging the global powers—especially the United States—for their role in maintaining the status quo:

“We made this, 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. Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7th which must be freed. 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 his life and he can not control." 

Abraham continued:

“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. And – why, can’t you see that we are intertwined? It’s my people can be truly safe, if Basel’s people are truly free and safe this is another way – it’s not too late for life for the living. There is no other way.”

The ovation that followed their speeches was a striking moment of recognition, signaling a shift in Hollywood’s willingness to engage with pro-Palestinian narratives.

Historically, the Academy has recognized politically sensitive documentaries, but often in ways that align with Western geopolitical interests. 

20 Days in Mariupol (2023) won in 2024, offering a harrowing account of the war in Ukraine. Similarly, For Sama (2019) documented the Syrian civil war from the perspective of a young mother, earning global acclaim, and The Edge of Democracy (2019) tackled political corruption in Brazil, just as If a Tree Falls (2011) explored eco-terrorism and radical environmental activism. 

While all these films challenged power structures, none were as openly critical of Israel or Western complicity in an ongoing occupation. No Other Land broke this unspoken barrier, making it one of the most politically significant Oscar wins in recent memory.

This raises the question of whether the Oscars are genuinely evolving or if this remains an anomaly. 

Historically, the Academy has been dominated by American and British films. Over 73% of Oscars in major categories have gone to American productions, with British films making up another 13%. 

Global representation has remained limited, though the documentary category has been more open to international voices. 

In 2024, all five nominees for Best Documentary Feature were international films, reflecting a slow but meaningful shift. 

The recognition of No Other Land suggests that the Academy is at least willing to engage with more challenging narratives from the Global South, but it remains to be seen whether this will translate into sustained support for marginalized filmmakers or if it was merely a token moment of progress.

One of the most crucial aspects of this win is its potential impact on the industry. 

Historically, films about Palestine have faced systemic challenges in Hollywood, where pro-Palestinian narratives have often been met with silence or outright censorship. 

The difficulty No Other Land encountered in securing distribution highlights how risk-averse many Western studios remain when it comes to stories that challenge dominant geopolitical alliances. 

However, the film’s success may embolden other filmmakers to push forward, proving that there is an audience for these stories and that they deserve institutional recognition. 

The question now is whether this signals a true shift in Hollywood’s approach to Palestinian voices or if it will remain an isolated victory, celebrated in the moment but not followed by structural change. 

If No Other Land has proved anything, it is this: even in the belly of the beast, visceral storytelling has the potential to shatter political silence, even if for a single, unflinching moment.