News

Believe it or not, this review was scheduled shortly before the buzz hit. Sadly, yesterday, Hamdan Ballal was assaulted during a settlers’ raid and arrested by the Israeli army, only weeks after “No Other Land” won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. But let’s assume you do not know anything about the film and start with the beginning.

In the south of the West Bank lies a handful of small Bedouin villages known as Masafer Yatta. The area has been designated a military zone by the Israeli authorities, and its residents are therefore being forced out. “No Other Land” documents the resistance of these inhabitants against this decision. Four people – two Israelis and two Palestinians, journalists and activists that met in action – unite to fight this situation with their cameras. Among them, Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian photographer already involved in fighting the occupation and Rachel Szor, an Israeli...

Hamdan Ballal‘s co-director Yuval Abraham is calling out the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which oversees the Academy Awards.

The Oscar-winning No Other Land filmmaker spoke out following the horrifying news that his Palestinian co-director was beaten by settlers and detained by Israeli military in the West Bank days ago, until he was ultimately freed.

“Sadly, the US Academy, which awarded us an Oscar three weeks ago, declined to publicly support Hamdan Ballal while he was beaten and tortured by Israeli soldiers and settlers,” Yuval wrote on X.

Keep reading to find out more…

“The European Academy voiced support, as did countless other award groups and festivals. Several US Academy members—especially in the documentary branch—pushed for a statement, but it was ultimately refused. We were told that because other Palestinians were beaten up in the settler attack, it could be considered unrelated to the film,...

Hamdan Ballal is now free again.

The Palestinian No Other Land co-director was freed after being attacked by settlers and detained by the Israeli military in West Bank, according to co-director Yuval Abraham.

“After being handcuffed all night and beaten in a military base, Hamdan Ballal is now free and is about to go home to his family,” the director announced on X on Tuesday (March 25).

Keep reading to find out more…

Witnesses at the scene of the incident said that dozens of settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Susiya in the Masafer Yatta area, destroying property.

Hamdam was left with his head bleeding, and while he was treated in an ambulance, soldiers detained him and a second Palestinian man, according to an activist group.

“After the assault, Hamdan was handcuffed and blindfolded all night in an army base while two soldiers beat him up on the floor, his lawyer...

On Sunday night in Los Angeles, the comedy-drama Anora won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The film’s director, Sean Baker and co-producers Samantha Quan and Alex Coco accepted the award during the 97th Academy Awards.

“To all of the dreamers and young filmmakers out there, tell the stories you want to tell,” Quan said onstage after she, Baker and Coco accepted the award. “Tell the stories that move you. I promise you, you will never regret it.”

“I want to thank the Academy for recognizing a truly independent film,” the director shared. “This film was made on the blood, sweat and tears of incredible indie artists.”

Anora, a film about an exotic dancer marrying the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch, won five out of the six categories for which it was nominated, including Best Picture.

Baker also won the Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing categories.

The film No Other Landjust won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards, marking the first time a Palestinian filmmaker has ever won an Oscar. The documentary is co-directed by award-winning Palestinian filmmaker, lawyer, and activistBasel Adra alongside Yuval Abraham, an Israeli filmmaker and investigative journalist from Jerusalem,Rachel Szor, an Israeli cinematographer, editor, and director from Jerusalem, and Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian photographer, filmmaker, and farmer from Susya. Selena Gomez and Samuel L. Jackson gave the award to the filmmakers. Despite all this, the film is not streaming in the U.S., and doesn't even have a distributor here.

The documentary is an intimate portrait of West Bank families who suffer constant destruction, surveillance, harassment, and threats from Israeli military forces and settlers. No Other Land is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Best Documentary award at the Berlin International Film Festival, but...

The 97th Academy Awards are in the books with “Anora” and “The Brutalist” leading all of the winners.

Cinephiles, the film award season came to an end on Sunday night with the 97th annual Academy Awards. In a ceremony hosted by Conan O’Brien, the independent film “Anora” not only took home the most Oscars on the night, but it also took home the biggest prize of them all, Best Picture. The film was nominated in six categories and won five. “The Brutalist” walked away with the second most statues, winning three, including Adrien Brody’s second Best Actor Oscar.

If Sunday’s ceremony made you curious to check out any of the winning films, we have collected the information on how you can stream them all. Keep in mind that as of publication, not every Oscar-winning movie is available to stream, but we will update this article when the outstanding...

The Palestinian and Israeli directors of No Other Land, the documentary set in the occupied West Bank, criticized America’s foreign policy in the region as they accepted the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature tonight.

The quartet of Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal, who are Palestinian, and Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, both Israelis, took the stage, with Adra and Abraham speaking on behalf of the filmmaking collective.

“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 October 7th, which must be freed,” said Abraham. Then he referenced the different conditions in which he as an Israeli citizen lives, versus Adra, who is subject to Israeli military rule.

“When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal,” he said.

Cinema, at its best, has the potential to be a compassionate, thoughtful, and even revolutionary act. The most powerful films are not just about looking at a place and a people but truly seeing them, taking us deeper into a state of being that far too often can go egregiously overlooked.

Nowhere is this more true than “No Other Land,” the outstanding Oscar-nominated documentary directed by the courageous Palestinian-Israeli filmmaking collective of Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. A devastating profile of the community of Masafer Yatta (a group of Palestinian villages in the West Bank constantly on the brink of destruction), the people living in perpetual uncertainty, and the way state violence consumes entire generations, it’s not just one of the most vital films about the region, but one of the absolute best documentaries to come out this or any year.

Shot from the Summer...

“No Other Land,” the Palestinian-Israeli doc which depicts the Israeli government’s efforts to force Palestinians from their homes in Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank, has been steadily gaining accolades ever since it scored the best documentary prize at last year’s Berlin Film Festival.

The timely piece, which shows the gradual demolition of houses and entire villages by the Israeli military’s bulldozers, also played in a slew of other prestigious events including the New York Film Festival and recently won the top prizes from the New York Film Critics Circle and the International Documentary Association.

“No Other Land,” which is directed by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists – Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Basel Adra – has also been tipped as a top contender for a nomination in the Oscars documentary feature category.

Yet, while it has been picked up for distribution in 24 countries...

There are moments in No Other Land, the award-winning Palestinian-­Israeli documentary about the Israeli demolition of villages in Masafer Yatta in the West Bank, where the despair is overwhelming. We see the weary cynicism of a mother desperate to build a room for her son paralysed by an Israeli soldier’s bullet, and the exhausted desperation of the film’s protagonist (and co-director) Basel Adra, who has been documenting the destruction of his community for most of his life.

“People ask a lot where I get the hope or strength,” says Adra. “I don’t know if it’s strength.

Each year at the Indie Film Site Network (Ifsn), we’re honored to highlight independent films that illuminate a humanitarian or environmental issue with a singular artistic vision. In 2024 we’ve announced Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor’s essential, urgent documentary No Other Land as the recipient of the Ifsn Advocate Award.

The top prize is awarded one million (1M) media impressions across the Indie Film Site Network, which represents The Film Stage, Hammer to Nail, Ioncinema.com, RogerEbert.com, Slant Magazine, and Screen Anarchy. Letterboxd, the popular social network for cinephiles, is also contributing to this award.

Finalists for the 2024 Ifsn Advocate Award are Mati Diop’s Dahomey, Gregory Kershaw and Michael Dweck’s Gaucho Gaucho, Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, Monica Sorelle’s Mountains, and Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s Sugarcane, which will each be awarded 100K media impressions across Ifsn.

In the light of current world events, defiance will be in sharp relief at the 48th Göteborg Film Festival, which runs Jan. 26 – Feb. 4, 2025

Under the banner “Focus: Disobedience,” the festival will highlight themes of civil resistance and pose such questions as: “When does rebellion become a moral obligation? When can it go too far? And is the flouting of laws and regulations a reasonable price to pay for change in a democratic society?”

“We will explore the concept of disobedience by showing contemporary films that explore the theme, and highlighting their significance in society. We look forward to discussing, problematizing, and mobilizing our defiance during the festival,” said Pia Lundberg, artistic director of the festival.

The annual event’s poster was created for this edition by artist Britta Marakatt-Labba, who has long engaged in activism. “I was born into a fight. My artistry began in Alta in northern Norway, when...

“This is a film that I love dearly. I think we use the word urgent a little bit not with as much intention as we should. And I think a film like this really occupies that word,” said Oscar winner Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour“), introducing a special screening of the documentary “No Other Land” at Scandinavia House in New York City on October 14. The film chronicles the efforts of the Israeli military and settlers to displace the Palestinian population of the Masafer Yatta region of the West Bank, as seen from the point of view of Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, who co-directed the film with Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor. Abraham and Adra participated in a virtual Q&a from Israel and the West Bank, respectively, moderated by Oscar nominee Yance Ford (“Strong Island“).

Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

“I think...

Gathering with friends to enjoy live music, the last thing on anyone’s mind was danger. Yet in an instant, terror struck the Nova Festival and shattered lives. We Will Dance Again honors those impacted with care, courage, and compassion. Through harrowing yet intimate tales of resilience, it ensures the victims are never forgotten.

Directed by Yariv Mozer, the film collects phone videos and interviews with survivors of the deadly October 2023 attack. Over three thousand people celebrated at the Nova/Universo Parelello festival near Israel’s Gaza border. But at dawn, Hamas militants breached the fence and hurled the camp into chaos. While most initially mistook rockets for fireworks, panic soon set in with the music’s halt and shouts of “code red.”

Attendants found themselves rushing aimlessly against traffic and confusion. Makeshift shelters like portable refrigerators and dumpsters briefly offered cover from grenades. But with Israeli forces delayed over six hours,...

Exclusive: The Israeli and Palestinian directors of No Other Land, the award-winning documentary set in the West Bank, are abandoning a U.S. tour and heading home as violence explodes in the region.

Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor cut short what was to have been a month-long visit. (Fellow director Hamdan Ballal stayed back in the West Bank and didn’t make the U.S. trip). Adra, a Palestinian from the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, and Abraham, a Jewish Israeli from the city of Be’er Sheva in Southern Israel, participated in a Q&a at the New York Film Festival last Sunday. They were to have taken part in a second Q&a Tuesday night, hours after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel in apparent retaliation for Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. That attack, coupled with Israel...

The 62nd New York Film Festival (NYFF) welcomed the powerful and timely documentary No Other Land, directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor. A poignant portrayal of the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the film is a testament to the filmmakers’ activism and resistance. However, a stark reminder of the real-world stakes came just before the screening, when Yuval Abraham, one of the directors, made an urgent and emotional statement on behalf of the collective.

No Other Land: A Collective Voice in a Time of Crisis

In a somber yet powerful address on October 1, Abraham announced that the filmmakers would not be able to participate in the Q&a session or the planned free talk later in the week. The reason: the escalating violence in their home region. The filmmakers had no choice but to leave New York and return home to be with their families, who were in imminent danger.

Israel’s occupation of the West Bank arguably constitutes a siege that’s been tightening in increments since 1967. One of these increments by which Israel has extended its claim to the land is the area known as Masafer Yatta, a cluster of 19 Palestinian villages that the Israeli government declared a military training zone in 1981 with the express aim (articulated by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon) of facilitating the expulsion of its Palestinian residents.

Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor’s documentary No Other Land embeds the viewer within the dry hills and craggy caves of Masafer Yatta, in the wake of a court decision rejecting its denizens’ decades-long suit against the illegal Israeli seizure of their land and destruction of their homes. Basel, an activist with a camera and a law degree who’s lived in the area his whole life, serves as narrator and focal point, as...

The arid area of the West Bank known as Masafer Yatta, which in the 1990s was designated as a live-fire training zone where the Israeli military exercises full control, is home to Basel Adra, a young Palestinian activist who has been fighting the mass expulsion of his community by the Israeli authorities since childhood. “No Other Land,” which screens in Berlin’s Panorama section, documents the gradual demolition of houses and entire villages by the military in the region using bulldozers. The documentary was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists: Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Adra. It screens Feb. 17.

Variety spoke to Adra and Abraham about the challenges of chronicling the escalating expulsions and their hopes that raising awareness will help end the occupation.

How did you start collaborating on this doc?

Basel Adra: I personally grew up seeing Israeli and international activists here...

Paramount and the heirs to the author of a 1983 magazine story that the original Top Gun was based on are each moving for a federal judge to declare victory in their favor in a copyright lawsuit revolving around the blockbuster sequel.

In a summary judgment motion filed on Monday, the two sides trade arguments over the copyrightability of certain aspects of Ehud Yonay’s article and Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski’s inspirations for some parts of the movie alleged to infringe on the writer’s intellectual property.

As evidence that filmmakers copied parts of his article, Yonay’s heirs, Shosh and Yuval, point to scenes and plot devices in the sequel that were detailed in the story but did not appear in the original. At the top list is a scene at a Navy base bar in which Tom Cruise’s Maverick has to buy a round of...

Nicolas Cage stars in "Sympathy for the Devil" as a carjacker with a hidden agenda, leading to a thrilling cat-and-mouse game in the Nevada desert. The movie primarily focuses on intense conversations between Cage and Joel Kinnaman's characters, resulting in a compelling character study. Director Yuval Adler and producer Allan Ungar discuss the challenges and technological advancements that were involved in bringing the film to life, including the use of LED Volume technology.

Nicolas Cage is a carjacker with a secret agenda in Sympathy for the Devil. The thriller centers on an expecting father whose trip to the hospital for his child's birth is upended when a mysterious carjacker forces him to drive to an unknown destination in the Nevada desert, resulting in a tense game of cat and mouse between them.

Alongside Cage, the cast for Sympathy for the Devil includes Joel Kinnaman as the expecting father, Kaiwi Lyman,...

Nicolas Cage's colorful look in Sympathy for the Devil was entirely his idea, leaving the director and producer speechless. The crazier Nic Cage is, the better the film, according to the director and producer, who embraced his offbeat style. Cage's career resurgence in recent years is due to his over-the-top performances, which have earned him acclaim and made him a subject of memes.

Already well-known for his eccentric performances, Sympathy for the Devil's director and producer reveal that Nicolas Cage's colorful look came from the Oscar winner. Cage leads the cast of the upcoming thriller as a man known as The Passenger who carjacks Joel Kinnaman's expectant father on the way to his baby's birth. The simple instruction to drive into the Nevada desert becomes a high-stakes game of cat and mouse between the two strangers as dark secrets are revealed about them both.

In anticipation of the movie's release,...

As reported by Variety, Nicolas Cage is set to receive this year's Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award at Fantasia International Film Festival. While chatting with the outlet about the National Treasure star's talents, artistic director Mitch Davis praised Cage's acting abilities.

Davis stated, "He is one of the most individualistic and captivating screen presences in the last 40 years. Beyond his unique charisma, the kinds of atypical characters he's been drawn to and what he can bring to them is so special and rare."

He continued, "Audiences lose their minds when he goes to these energetically extreme places: 'Vampire's Kiss' was my first experience with that and I was absolutely floored. But they are also transfixed by the quiet, textured qualities he brings to more somber characters. He's a one-of-a-kind treasure in American film."

The artistic director noted that Cage is no stranger to genre films and has found plenty of...

Nicolas Cage will pick up this year’s Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award at Fantasia.

“He is one of the most individualistic and captivating screen presences in the last 40 years. Beyond his unique charisma, the kinds of atypical characters he’s been drawn to and what he can bring to them is so special and rare,” artistic director Mitch Davis told Variety.

“Audiences lose their minds when he goes to these energetically extreme places: ‘Vampire’s Kiss’ was my first experience with that and I was absolutely floored. But they are also transfixed by the quiet, textured qualities he brings to more somber characters. He’s a one-of-a-kind treasure in American film.”

Throughout the years, Cage has been embracing genre cinema, admitted Davis. And it has embraced him back.

“He’s someone who sincerely loves cinema and has always embraced genre storytelling. I wish he could have been in the...

Nicolas Cage stars alongside Joel Kinnaman in upcoming psychological thriller Sympathy for the Devil, and Rlje Films has released a brand new official poster this week.

The film comes to theaters and On Demand on July 28, 2023.

In director Yuval Adler’s (Bethlehem) thriller, “After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger (Nicolas Cage) at gunpoint, a man (Joel Kinnaman) finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.”

Luke Paradise (Lost on a Mountain in Maine) wrote the script.

“This is a tour de force featuring two incredible actors,” said producer Allan Ungar. “As an acclaimed filmmaker, Yuval has assembled the perfect cast and brought a unique and gritty vision to this film that will be sure to capture audiences.”

The post ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ Poster – Nicolas Cage Takes You on One Hell of a Ride This...

Nicolas Cage stars alongside Joel Kinnaman in upcoming psychological thriller Sympathy for the Devil, and Rlje Films has unleashed the wild official trailer today.

The film comes to theaters and On Demand on July 28, 2023.

Watch the official trailer for Sympathy for the Devil below, which looks to feature another wild Cage performance that this time will allow him to chew scenery as the Devil himself.

In director Yuval Adler’s (Bethlehem) thriller, “After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger (Nicolas Cage) at gunpoint, a man (Joel Kinnaman) finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.”

Luke Paradise (Lost on a Mountain in Maine) wrote the script.

“This is a tour de force featuring two incredible actors,” said producer Allan Ungar. “As an acclaimed filmmaker, Yuval has assembled the perfect cast and brought a unique and gritty...

Nicolas Cage is starring alongside Joel Kinnaman in a psychological thriller titled Sympathy for the Devil, and THR reports today that Rlje Films has picked up North American rights.

“Rlje has set a July 28, 2023 release date for the film,” THR reports today.

Yuval Adler (Bethlehem) directed Sympathy for the Devil.

The film follows “The Driver” (Kinnaman), who finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse after being forced to drive a mysterious man, “The Passenger” (Cage). As their white-knuckle ride progresses, it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.

Luke Paradise (Lost on a Mountain in Maine) wrote the script.

“This is a tour de force featuring two incredible actors,” said producer Allan Ungar. “As an acclaimed filmmaker, Yuval has assembled the perfect cast and brought a unique and gritty vision to this film that will be sure to capture audiences.”

The post ‘Sympathy for the Devil...

Nicolas Cage is back this year in another genre project you may want to keep on your radar, starring alongside Joel Kinnaman in a psychological thriller titled Sympathy for the Devil.

Yuval Adler (Bethlehem) directed the film, and Deadline has shared a first-look image (above) from the film courtesy of Capstone Global and Hammerstone Studios.

Capstone Studios is handling world sales on Sympathy for the Devil.

The film follows “The Driver” (Kinnaman), who finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse after being forced to drive a mysterious man, “The Passenger” (Cage). As their white-knuckle ride progresses, it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.

Luke Paradise (Lost on a Mountain in Maine) wrote the script.

“This is a tour de force featuring two incredible actors,” said producer Allan Ungar. “As an acclaimed filmmaker, Yuval has assembled the perfect cast and brought a unique and gritty...