Basel Adra, a young Palestinian activist from Masafer Yatta, has been fighting his community's mass expulsion by the Israeli occupation since childhood. Basel documents the gradual erasure of Masafer Yatta, as soldiers destroy the homes of families - the largest single act of forced transfer ever carried out in the occupied West Bank. He crosses paths with Yuval, an Israeli journalist who joins his struggle, and for over half a decade they fight against the expulsion while growing closer. Their complex bond is haunted by the extreme inequality between them: Basel, living under a brutal military occupation, and Yuval, unrestricted and free.
This film, by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists, was co-created during the darkest, most terrifying times in the region, as an act of creative resistance to Apartheid and a search for a path towards equality and justice.
Nominated for Best International Independent Film at the British Independent Film Awards 2024.
Berlinale Documentary Award and Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film
The Garden Cinema View:
No Other Land follows frontline occupation/conflict documentaries such as For Sama, City of Ghosts, and 20 Days in Mariupol, in that it confronts us with the desperate immediacy of the situation in Gaza, whilst showcasing the extraordinary bravery of the filmmakers and journalists who record these atrocities. The footage is upsetting, and produces feelings of helplessness, and deep frustration and anger, as well as exhaustion. The efforts of Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham in telling this story are themselves commendable, and they show a collaborative pathway that might lead to a better future. That is until the terrifying coda that Basel filmed after the official end of the shoot, just after the recent escalation of Israel’s war with Hamas in October 2023.
