Oscar 2025 winners No Other Land call to stop injustice in Palestine in powerful speech

The award for best documentary feature at the 97th Academy Awards was won by Palestinian-Israeli film No Other Land, with the acceptance speech using the moment to share a powerful message

Palestinian-Israeli film No Other Land, about the disputed West Bank, has won the Oscar for best documentary feature film, with the film’s team standing in solidartary with the people of Palestine as they collected the award.

On stage, Palestinian journalist Basel Adra said his community is "always feeling displacement" and "under occupation". He called for the world "to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people".

Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham said he lives "free under civil law", but Adra lives under another legislation in Israel. Abraham added that "the foreign policy" of the US "is helping block this path" to Palestinians having their own freedoms, and also said "there is another way, for life and the living".

"No Other Land reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades and still persist as we call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people," Adra said to applause while accepting the Oscar.

"NO OTHER LAND!!!! No Other Land now has more Oscars than it did distribution offers. a great and enduring shame upon the American film industry. free Palestine forever," one penned on Twitter (X) as the filmmakers collected the award. Another added: "No Other Land has won the Oscar for Best Documentary - a film from the Palestinian-Israeli collective. Perhaps the bravest Oscars speech in history. There will be a boil over tomorrow."

No Other Land, based on true events, tells the story of a young Palestinian activist named Basel Adra who has been resisting the forced displacement of his people by Israel's military in Masafer Yatta, a region in the West Bank

A young Palestinian activist, Basel Adra, has been standing up against the forced eviction of his people by Israel's military in Masafer Yatta, a region in the West Bank, since his childhood. He documents the slow destruction of his homeland, where Israeli soldiers are demolishing homes and evicting their residents to establish a military firing zone.

He forms an unlikely friendship with Yuval, a Jewish Israeli journalist who supports him in his fight. Their bond is tested by the stark contrast in their living conditions: Basel endures relentless oppression and violence, while Yuval experiences freedom and safety.

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