Washington DC [US], March 29 : The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) issued a statement to its 11,000 members following massive criticisms over its lack of support for Oscar-winning director Hamdan Ballal after he was detained by Israeli police earlier this week in the West Bank, reported Variety.
According to the outlet, the Academy released a statement on Wednesday condemning "harming artists," but did not name Palestinian director Ballal in it who was detained by the Israeli forces.
By Thursday morning, a letter began circulating among AMPAS members, criticizing leadership's failure to defend Ballal publicly.
In response to this, on Friday, the Academy issued a follow-up letter explicitly naming Ballal and apologising for omitting both him and the film from a statement sent earlier in the week.
"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. We regret that we failed to directly acknowledge Mr. Ballal and the film by name. 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," wrote AMPAS, as quoted by Variety.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang signed the message, which demonstrated the organization's acknowledgment of the magnitude of the members' outcry.
Earlier, around 600 Oscar voters, including Ava DuVernay, Olivia Colman, and Javier Bardem, signed an open letter criticizing the Academy's lack of support.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the letter, updated on Friday, read: "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 reaction comes after AMPAS leaders Bill Kramer and Janet Yang issued a statement on Wednesday suggesting that Ballal's attack involved "many unique viewpoints."
Other celebs who signed the letter include Mark Ruffalo, Oscar-winning director Jonathan Glazer, Emma Thompson, Tony Kushner, Richard Gere, Andrea Riseborough, and Todd Haynes.
Hamdan Ballal, who co-directed the Oscar-winning documentary, 'No Other Land', was assaulted and arrested by the Israeli military earlier this week.
The incident occurred in the West Bank village of Susiya, Ballal's hometown, during a confrontation with settlers. According to co-director Yuval Abraham, Ballal suffered injuries to his head and stomach, was zip-tied and blindfolded, and was released the following day, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
The letter accused the Academy of failing to support a filmmaker whose work shed light on difficult truths.
"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.
'No Other Land' follows a Palestinian family living in the West Bank as their home gets destroyed by the Israeli government and they face displacement.
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