Around 600 Oscar voters have condemned the Academy leadership for its “indefensible” failure to respond swiftly and appropriately to the attack and arrest of Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal earlier this week.
A new open letter, signed by around 600 Oscar voters—including Ava DuVernay, Olivia Colman, and Javier Bardem—has criticized the leadership of 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 letter, updated on Friday and signed by AMPAS members from various genres, including documentaries, statedAdvertisement
AMPAS voters were responding to a statement issued on Wednesday by Academy leaders Bill Kramer and Janet Yang, which suggested that the beating and arrest of recent Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal is an issue on which Academy members will have “many unique viewpoints.”
Among the well-known Academy members who signed the letter are Mark Ruffalo, Oscar-winning Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer, Emma Thompson, Tony Kushner, Richard Gere, Andrea Riseborough, and more, as well as filmmaker, Denis Villeneuve, and Boots Riley.
Ballal, who co-directed No Other Land, which won Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars, was attacked and arrested by the Israeli military earlier this week during a confrontation with settlers in Susiya, his hometown in the West Bank. According to co-director Yuval Abraham, Ballal suffered head and stomach injuries, was zip-tied and blindfolded, and was released the next day.
The open letter from AMPAS members accused the Academy of showing 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 letter stated
Source: THR