No Other Land [2024]

 State-sponsored brutalities and oppression can manifest in diverse forms, as can defiance and resistance against them. Acts of micro-activism and citizen journalism are eloquent illustrations of the latter, oftentimes taking particularly haunting qualities and power through their rugged authenticity, unfiltered vérité and defiant resolve. This was unforgettably evidenced by the crushing documentary essay 5 Broken Cameras 14 years back, as is by No Other Land that’s directed by a Palestinian-Israeli collective spearheaded by Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham. Adra, a Palestinian residing in occupied West Bank and life-long activist, has been fearlessly recording the plight of his impoverished fellow villagers – residents of a tiny hamlet called Masafer Yatta – who’ve been facing forced displacement and cruelties, since as long as he can remember, at the hands of the Israeli military who want to ostensibly setup training grounds for the soldiers, and scheming Israeli settlers who then plan to seize the vacated lands for territorial expansion. His tireless documentation of these brazen acts of state-sponsored crimes, including the bulldozing of homes and schools, and violence against protesters, counterpointed the villagers’ refusal to surrender despite the dispossessions, hardships and abject helplessness. His footage – shot over many years leading to the inception of the ongoing genocide in Gaza – speaks truth to power and bears witness with simmering fury and striking urgency. These were, in parallel, coupled with the stirring solidarity that’s established with Abraham, an Israeli journalist who highlights the harrowing injustices in national and international media. The dramatic difference in the situations of these two comrades – in terms of relative rights, freedom and privileges – are vaporized by their shared battles against repression with a remarkable sense of lucidity, equanimity and even humour.

Directors: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor

Genre: Documentary/Essay Film

Language: Arabic/Hebrew

Country: Palestine