The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologizes Friday for having explicit support for the Oscar winning co-director for the documentary “No Other Land” Hamdan Ballal after being beaten and arrested on the West Bank last week.
The film organization had sent an e -mail message to its members on Wednesday and condemned violence. That email did not name the documentary’s title or the name of its co-director, and it drew widespread condemnation from the members, of which about 700 of them at the first week signed an open letter on Friday morning that is read, “It is unjustifiable for an organization to admit a movie with an award during the first week later.
On Friday afternoon, the Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang sent an e -mail message to his nearly 11,000 members who read, “On Wednesday we sent a letter in response to violence against Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal, director of ‘No Other Land’, linked to his artistic expression.
“We apologize to Mr. Ballal and all the artists who did not feel supported by our previous statement and want to make it clear that the academy condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world. We detest the impression of free opinion in any case.”
A source with knowledge of the Academy’s documents said that Friday’s statement was in the works before the members’ presentation was released, but was delayed until the organization was able to convene a meeting with its board of 55 members. It is not known if the board was consulted before Kramer and Yang sent out the first e -mail message on Wednesday.
The original e -mail message, which was also signed by Kramer and Yang, was partly a condemnation of violence – but besides not naming Ballal, it made it a point to motivate the academy’s dislike to speak out of “social, political and economic events.”
“We basically believe that the film has the power to enlighten global audiences and highlighting different perspectives – and we encourage our members to use their art to do so,” read the original e -mail partly. “The academy condemns to harm or suppress artists enemy their work or their views.
We live in a time of deep change, characterized by conflict and uncertainty – all over the world, in the US and in our own industry. Understanding, we are often urged to speak for the academy in response to social, political and economic events. In these cases, it is important to note that the academy represents close to 11,000 global members with many unique vision points. “
Many academy members were upset by the proposal that the phrase “many unique views” could justify the academy’s refusal to condemn a specific act of violence against a new Oscar winner.
“I had charged the Academy’s failure to speak out in support of a new Oscar winner being beaten and abducted, I assumed that events had happened too quickly so that you could take action,” wrote documentary member AJ Schnack in an email message to Kramer and Yang that he later decided to publish. “I am shocked and angry that you now let us, your members, know that you see the abduction and beating a new honoree as something that members will have” many unique views “of. With respect it is a really disgusting suggestion.
“… this cannot be the way forward if the academy really cares about artistic freedoms and our rights as filmmakers.”
Hallals co-director, the Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham, responded to the Academy’s passivity on social media and wrote, “Unfortunately, the Academy of America, which assigned us an Oscar three weeks ago, declined to publicly support Hamdan Ballal while he was beaten and tortured by Israeli.
“The European Academy expressed support, as well as countless other price groups and festivals. Several American Academy members – especially in the documentary – pressed on a statement, but that finally refused,” he added. “We were told that since other Palestinians were beaten in the settlement attack, it could be considered not related to the film, so they felt no need to answer.”
Hallal, a Palestinian director who lives on the West Bank near the village of Susiya, said he was beaten by Jewish settlers and was arrested by Israeli forces on suspicion to throw stones and harm property, which he denied to do.
“I feel that I will die, because this attack was so hard, I bleed everywhere,” Hallal told ABC News On Thursday.
Steve Pond contributed to this report.
