Academy apologises for not supporting Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has issued a statement apologising for not publicly supporting No Other Land co-director Hamdan Ballal after his recent assault and arrest in the West Bank.

The incident occurred in the village of Susiya, Ballal's hometown, where he was reportedly beaten by a group of settlers and later detained by Israeli military. 

Yuval Abraham, an Israeli director and one of the four directors behind No Other Land, which won the Oscar for best documentary feature film, shared the news on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.

Abraham stated that Ballal was released the following day but had "injuries in his head and stomach." Following the attack, Academy leaders Bill Kramer and Janet Yang released a statement on Wednesday that was widely criticized for not directly acknowledging Ballal or the film.

The statement suggested that the beating and arrest of Ballal was something that Academy members would have "many unique viewpoints" on. 

Hundreds of Oscar voters, as well as several documentary branch members, condemned the statement for its "lack of support."

In response to the backlash, Kramer and Yang sent a new statement to AMPAS members on Friday, apologising for their previous response. 

"On Wednesday, we sent a letter in response to reports of violence against Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land, connected to his artistic expression," they wrote.

"We regret that we failed to directly acknowledge Mr. Ballal and the film by name," they continued. "We sincerely apologize to Mr. Ballal and all artists who felt unsupported by our previous statement and want to make it clear that the Academy condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world."

The statement concluded, "We abhor the suppression of free speech under any circumstances."