Israel’s culture and sports minister has criticised the Academy Award win for ‘No Other Land’, calling it “a sad moment for the world of cinema.”
The documentary, directed by Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers, won Best Documentary at the 2025 Oscars on Sunday night, beating ‘Black Box Diaries’, ‘Porcelain War’, ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ and ‘Sugarcane’, and , Miki Zohar has now hit out after its victory.
The film, which has yet to secure U.S. distribution, follows the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli forces and the relationship that develops between Palestinian journalist and co-director Basel Adra and Israeli journalist and co-director Yuval Abraham.
Mr Zohar, 43, condemned the film in a statement posted on X, accusing the filmmakers of distorting Israel’s image. He said: “The Oscar win for the film ‘No Other Land’ is a sad moment for the world of cinema. Instead of presenting the complexity of Israeli reality, the filmmakers chose to amplify narratives that distort Israel’s image vis-à-vis international audiences.”
The minister also criticised the documentary’s international success, saying: “Freedom of expression is an important value, but turning the defamation of Israel into a tool for international promotion is not art – it is sabotage against the State of Israel, especially in the wake of the October 7th massacre and the ongoing war.”
‘No Other Land’ has already received multiple international awards, including honours from the International Documentary Association and the Spirit Awards.
Mr Zohar also defended recent reforms in Israel’s state-funded cinema industry, which he said were designed to ensure government funding supports films that “speak to the Israeli audience”.
He added: “This is precisely why we passed a reform in state-funded cinema – to ensure that taxpayer money is directed toward works of art that speak to the Israeli audience, rather than an industry that builds its career on slandering Israel on the global stage.”
