Ava DuVernay, Olivia Colman, Javier Bardem Sign Open Letter Criticizing Oscars’ Response to ‘No Other Land’ Co-Director Attack

A new open letter signed by around 600 Oscar voters, including Ava DuVernay, Olivia Colman and Javier Bardem, has criticized the leadership of the The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its initial response to the recent assault and arrest of Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal.

“It is indefensible for an organization to recognize a film with an award in the first week of March, and then fail to defend its filmmakers just a few weeks later,” the open letter updated Friday and signed by AMPAS members across a range of genres, including documentaries, stated.

The AMPAS voters were reacting to a statement put out Wednesday by Academy leaders Bill Kramer and Janet Yang that suggested the beating and arrest of recent Oscar-winner Hamdan Ballal is something Academy members will have “many unique viewpoints” on.

Other well-known Academy members who signed the letter include Mark Ruffalo, Oscar-winning Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer, Emma Thompson, Tony Kushner, Richard Gere, Andrea Riseborough and Todd Haynes.

Ballal, who won an Oscar for co-directing best documentary feature winner No Other Land, was attacked and arrested by the Israeli military earlier this week during a confrontation with settlers that took place on the West Bank, in the village of Susiya, Ballal’s hometown. The Palestinian filmmaker sustained injuries to his head and stomach, and was zip-tied and blindfolded, according to co-director Yuval Abraham, before being released the next day.

The open letter by AMPAS members claimed the Academy showed a “lack of support” for Ballal. “The targeting of Ballal is not just an attack on one filmmaker — it is an attack on all those who dare to bear witness and tell inconvenient truths. We will continue to watch over this film team. Winning an Oscar has put their lives in increasing danger, and we will not mince words when the safety of fellow artists is at stake,” the open letter stated.

The Hollywood Reporter reached out to the Academy for comment but has yet to hear back.

The full open letter from Oscar voters follows.

AMPAS members respond to the lack of support for filmmaker Hamdan Ballal from AMPAS leadership. On 26 March 2025, the leadership of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences emailed its membership a statement with the subject line, “Our Global Film Community.” The statement was ostensibly responding to the detention of Palestinian filmmaker and 2025 Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winner Hamdan Ballal, one of the directors of “No Other Land,” although it failed to mention either Ballal or the film by name, nor did it describe the events it was responding to. The statement by Bill Kramer and Janet Yang fell far short of the sentiments this moment calls for. Therefore we are issuing our own statement, which speaks for the undersigned members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

We stand in condemnation of the brutal assault and unlawful detention of Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal by settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank. As artists, we depend on our ability to tell stories without reprisals. Documentary filmmakers often expose themselves to extreme risks to enlighten the world. It is indefensible for an organization to recognize a film with an award in the first week of March, and then fail to defend its filmmakers just a few weeks later. To win an Oscar is not an easy task. Most films in competition are buoyed by wide distribution and exorbitantly priced campaigns directed at voting members. For “No Other Land” to win an Oscar without these advantages speaks to how important the film is to the voting membership.

The targeting of Ballal is not just an attack on one filmmaker—it is an attack on all those who dare to bear witness and tell inconvenient truths. We will continue to watch over this film team. Winning an Oscar has put their lives in increasing danger, and we will not mince words when the safety of fellow artists is at stake. 

Sincerely,