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Basel Adra

Palestinian filmmaker, journalist, and activist from Masafer Yatta

Born in
At-Tuwani, Masafer Yatta, Palestine
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Why Basel is here

Adra turned years of documenting displacement in his home community into an internationally recognized work of first-person documentary cinema.

Their story

Basel Adra is a Palestinian filmmaker, journalist, and activist from Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank. He began documenting his community as a teenager and co-directed No Other Land with Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor. The film records the demolition and displacement faced by villages in Masafer Yatta and won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature Film in 2025.

Milestones

The moments that shaped Basel’s path.

  1. 2019-2023

    Worked with a Palestinian-Israeli collective to film life, demolition, and resistance in Masafer Yatta.

  2. 2024

    Co-directed No Other Land, his first feature film.

  3. 2024

    Won the Berlinale Documentary Award and Panorama Audience Award with the film's directing collective.

  4. 2025

    Won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature Film for No Other Land.

Legacy

What they built, changed and left behind.

  1. Created a sustained visual record of displacement and community resistance in Masafer Yatta.

  2. Combined journalism, activism, and documentary filmmaking to bring a local struggle to global audiences.

  3. Shared Palestinian authorship of an Academy Award-winning documentary.

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