'No Other Land' goes online in N. America as US theatres shun film on Israeli occupation brutality

Academy Award-winning documentary film 'No Other Land' has been made available to watch online in North America, as some movie theatres in the US and Israel shun the work, which documents the brutality of life under Israeli occupation and settler harassment.

The film will be available online for three weeks, with proceeds from download sales going towards the Palestinians of Masafer Yatta - the grouping of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank that features in the documentary.

The projects being funded include youth education, women's empowerment programmes, food sovereignty initiatives, psychological care and emergency funds for locals, according to the film's website.

"My father was born under Israeli occupation and could never go to school. But I learned English and filmmaking, which is how I was able to get the story of Masafer Yatta out to millions," co-director Hamdan Ballal said in a statement about the online release.

"We decided to independently make our film accessible online in the U.S... because, despite winning the Oscar, our community is still being destroyed – and we urgently need help," he added.

'No Other Land' documents the suffering of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, which was declared by the Israeli army as a 'military firing zone' in 1980, and is the frequent target of demolitions, raids and settler violence. The film shows scenes of Israeli soldiers tearing down homes and expelling Palestinians as part of their efforts to enforce the military zone.

In March, the Israeli-Palestinian film won the Oscar for best documentary film at the 97th Academy Awards, drawing greater global attention to both the work itself and the harsh realities of the Israeli occupation.

While many lauded the film's success, far-right and pro-Israel groups in the US and Israel railed against it, with many cinemas 

Miki Zohar, Israel's Minister of Culture and Sports, called the win a "sad moment for the world of cinema", saying that "instead of presenting the complexity of Israeli reality, the filmmakers chose to amplify the narratives that distort Israel's image vis-à-vis international audiences". Zohar also urged cinemas not to screen the movie.

In the US, Commentary magazine editor John Podhoretz said: "Congratulations to HAMAS for its Oscar win. Now let's see them destroyed".

Weeks after the win, co-director Ballal was attacked by a group of 15 to 20 Israeli settlers in the village of Susya, who beat him and targeted his home, according to eyewitnesses. Israeli soldiers then stormed the ambulance that was transporting Ballal to the hospital and held him overnight, where he was blindfolded, cuffed and beaten by both soldiers and settlers.

Even before the Oscar win, co-directors Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor were already facing pro-Israel pressure against their work that had galvanised following their success at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival.

The smears against the film and its makers made it difficult to find a US distribution company, leading them to announce its independent release in February.