The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement to its members on Friday apologizing for not adequately expressing its support of the Palestinian Oscar-winning filmmaker Hamdan Ballal.
Ballal, who won this year's feature-length documentary Academy Award for co-directing the film No Other Land about the difficulties of life under Israeli occupation, said he was attacked on Monday by Israeli settlers. He was then arrested by the Israeli army. Israeli authorities released the director the following day, saying Ballal had been detained for hurling stones. The filmmaker and witnesses deny this accusation.
The Academy's initial statement in response to the alleged attack, sent out on Wednesday to its roughly 11,000 members, did not include Ballal's name or the title of his film.
Co-signed by Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang, the Wednesday statement spoke in generalities, such as, "The Academy condemns harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints," and, "We believe deeply in the ability of film to illuminate, to provoke thought, and to bridge divides by offering a window into diverse human experiences."
Kramer and Yang's updated statement, sent out on Friday and shared by the Academy's press office on Saturday via email with NPR, was more explicit:
"We regret that we failed to directly acknowledge Mr. Ballal and the film by name," it said. "We sincerely apologize to Mr. Ballal and all artists who felt unsupported by our previous statement and want to make it clear that the Academy condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world."
TVNL Comment: Shame on the Academy for its cowardice and lukewarm response.