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Oscar-winning director aims to protect Palestinian cultural heritage
Al Twani
University news / Research news
Thursday 20 March 2025
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A talented director who took part in a Coventry University project documenting the heritage of Palestinian communities has won an Oscar for his first documentary feature film.
Basel Adra, 28, who took part in the university’s On Our Land Project in 2017, was awarded the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for his film No Other Land.
The film, co-directed by Basel and fellow film maker Yuval Abraham, a joint Palestinian-Israeli collective, centres on Basel’s home village of Al Twani located in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank.
Before making his film Basel’s participation in Coventry University’s On Our Land Project saw him document Palestinian communities and learn skills relating to oral history methodology, film, interview and research. On Our Land is funded by the British Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
I really enjoyed my time on the On Our Land project, conducting interviews on all sorts of subjects; tools, caves, ancient farming, producing milk, telling the real stories of the people here. It’s so important to me that we document this cultural heritage and share it with the world.
Basel Adra
Basel said it was a huge surprise to find out No Other Land had been nominated for an Oscar and even more so that the film took home the award.
Accepting the award during the Oscars ceremony, Basel called on the world to take action to help the Palestinian people while Yuval criticised US foreign policy and called for a political solution.
It was such a huge moment – I was shaking and my heart was beating so fast. It’s a massive platform and the most important thing for me was being able to say the name of my community, Al Twani, to the world.
My hope is that No Other Land gives people the opportunity to visualise this community, it’s heritage and what is happening here.
Basel Adra
The research tells the story of the Palestinian community in Masafer Yatta and aims to record and protect their cultural heritage under direct risk from the occupation.
I am so proud to see Basel winning such an amazing prize, this is clear evidence of the transformative impact of our work.
Associate Professor Marwan Darweish, from Coventry University’s Centre for Peace and Security and On Our Land Project Lead
Find out more about Coventry University’s Centre for Peace and Security.
