This is a movie that comes with a warning: “strong language and scenes of violence and shootings which may upset some viewers, and it isn’t suitable for younger viewers”. Indeed this is neither light-hearted viewing nor family entertainment. No Other Land takes audiences on a jarring journey of Palestinian life in the occupied West Bank. An experience you won’t easily forget. No recent Palestinian film has achieved the same heights as this Berlinale- and Oscar-winning documentary: Farah Nalbusi’s fictional The Teacher (2023) lacked its realism, while Georgia Scott and Sophia Scott’s Tomorrow’s Freedom (2024) did not possess the same level of clarity and coherence.

The four directors – two Israelis and two Palestinians – follow the life of young Palestinian activist Basel Adra (one of the filmmakers himself). He was born and raised in a tiny community of the Masefar Yatta, a collection of Palestinian hamlets located in the deeply rural and semiarid mountains of the southern West Bank. Other than a few houses, there is little more than sparse olive trees. His very first memory is of his father being arrested, when he was just five. He joined his first demonstration at the age of seven. This is a life structured and regimented in accordance with the whims of their depraved occupier. Despite the villages showing on maps since the 19th century, and abundant evidence that the families have inhabited the region for well over 100 years, Israel illegally claims jurisdiction over the land. The latest court ruling – which took 22 years to reach – decided that the area should be turned into army training facilities, and that the Palestinian houses should be demolished.

Yuval Abraham is an Israeli journalist of roughly the same age as Basel (and also one of the filmmakers). He befriends the community, spending large amounts of time with Basel’s family and friends. Most crucially, he empathises with their struggle, and provides a very useful helping hand. He registers as Israeli bulldozers demolish the houses, and the soldiers confront, intimidate, attack, shoot and kill the Palestinians. His presence acts as a deterrent, while also ruffling a lot of feathers. A furious Israeli man films Yuval with his mobile phone, while also threatening him with doxing: “you will be all over social media”. An IDF soldier mocks him (“go write an article, idiot”), thus exhibiting Israel’s disdain for media coverage. They also intimidate Palestinians: “we will do something horrible to you if you invite human rights activists into your house”.

Revealingly, the majority of Israeli soldiers and settlers cover their face while terrorising Palestinians – a practice barely compatible with bona fide law enforcers and good, law-abiding citizens.

Consisting almost entirely of footage captured at Masefar Yatta, with non-manipulative editing, minimal voiceover, and no music score and special effects, No Other Land feels palpably real. The demolition of the houses is extremely painful to watch (not even the water well and the sheep pen are spared), as is the destruction of a school built secretly at night and once visited by Tony Blair (pink balloons are still attached to the blade of the bulldozer). The shootings too are very graphic, often at point blank: they include Basel’s cousin and also a young man called Harun, who was left paralysed after attempting to claim to his work tools and generator from the Israeli army. Most are left to dwell in caves.

While Yuval’s role is essential in the resistance (Palestinian filmmaker Rolla Selbak is always told that any film about Palestine should be supported by a Jew), he keeps a respectful distance from the spotlight, thus avoiding the “white saviour” cliche. Naturally, the phrase wouldn’t apply in its entirety here. That’s because race isn’t black and white, particularly in this specific context. Both Palestinians and Israelis are ethnically semitic, and barely distinguishable to the naked eye (Yuval has to tell an IDF soldier that he speaks Hebrew in order to avoid being “mistaken” for an Arab and becoming a victim of army violence).

Crucially, this 92-minute documentary reveals in its final 10 minutes that Israel has instrumentalised October the 7th in order to intensify the killing and the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank. In other words, it demonstrates that the escalation of Israeli atrocities are meticulously calculated and carefully timed. And that their objective is the complete elimination of Palestinians. This is guerrilla filmmaking at its finest. No Other Land provides evidence that a mobile camera is a very powerful resistance weapon.

No Other Land premiered at the 74th Berlinale, where it won the Best Documentary Award. Such win provoked a violent reaction in the German establishment. Culture Minister Claudia Roth apologised for applauding the prize winners, explaining that she only clapped for the Israeli filmmaker Yuval (but not the Palestinian Basel). Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner actively discouraged viewers from watching, and exhibitors from showcasing this “antisemitic” documentary. Festival Director Mariette Rissenbeek criticised the award winners: “from our point of view, it would have been appropriate in terms of content if the award winners and guests at the Award Ceremony had also made more differentiated statements on this issue”. We wrote an open letter expressing our disappointment with the Festival.

The film also won the Best Documentary Oscar, becoming the first ever Palestinian movie to win a statuette. The film has not acquired distribution in the United States, being the only Best Documentary Academy Award winner in history to be denied an industry roadmap into the largest market of the Americas.

Those in the United Kingdom, can watch it for free on Channel 4. The movie is also available in other territories, via various avenues. Please conduct a local search.