Academy Apologizes for Not Naming ‘No Other Land’ Director Hamdan Ballal in Condemnation of Violence

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologized Friday for withholding explicit support for the Oscar-winning co-director of documentary “No Other Land” Hamdan Ballal after he was beaten and detained in the West Bank last week. The film organization published a letter Wednesday condemning violence that did not name the documentary’s title or the name of its co-director.

“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,” CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang wrote in a message to their 11,000 members. “We regret that we failed to directly acknowledge Mr. Ballal and the film by name,” the letter read. “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. We abhor the suppression of free speech under any circumstances.”

More to come …

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