A poster for the Oscar-nominated documentary “5 Broken Cameras” is
displayed at a theater in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The
documentary screened for Palestinians for the first time Monday, leaving
locals hopeful that their struggle with Israel for land and statehood
will gain a global audience. — Reuters
Noah Browning
RAMALLAH — Oscar-nominated documentary “5 Broken
Cameras” screened for Palestinians for the first time Monday, leaving
locals hopeful that their struggle with Israel for land and statehood
will gain a global audience.
The low-cost film is based on five years of amateur camera work by
journalist Emad Burnat as he documented weekly protests against land
seizures by Israeli forces and Jewish settlers in his village of Bil’in
in the occupied West Bank.
Neighbors are killed in the protests and demolition equipment mars the
landscape while the filmmaker captures his infant son’s rapid loss of
innocence, heralded by his first words: “wall” and “army.”
“This is a film for those who were martyred. It’s bigger than me and
bigger than Bil’in. More than a billion people follow the Oscars and
they will know our struggle now,” Burnat said after the viewing.
His work will compete at next month’s Oscar ceremony against four other
films, including a documentary called “The Gatekeepers” that looks at
the decades-old Middle East conflict through the eyes of six top former
Israeli intelligence bosses.
Although the perspective is very different, both movies share a
surprisingly similar message — the Israeli occupation of the West Bank
is morally wrong and must end.
Burnat’s film received a standing ovation at its premier in Ramallah,
the Palestinians’ administrative capital, with the audience excited to
see their seemingly endless conflict splashed on the big screen.
“The film shows the whole world what occupation is. It wiped the
happiness off the boy’s face at too young an age. This has been the
experience for all of us,” said taxi driver Ahmed Mustafa, who brought
his wife and child to the viewing.
“It’s not all bad though. It shows that there is progress, there are
victories, and that our cause is still alive and moving,” he said.
In 2007, Israel’s High Court ruled that the separation barrier built on
Bil’in lands was illegal and ordered it rerouted, cheering activists.
The ruling was finally implemented in 2011, but the protests continue.
Humble villagers in black-and-white checkered Palestinian scarves and
smartly dressed city dwellers shared the same visceral reaction to
scenes in the film that are much chronicled but seldom appear in
feature-length film.
A shot of olive trees reduced to glowing embers after being torched by Jewish settlers coaxes an audible gasp from viewers.
“Oh God!” said one man.
But as Burnat’s camera captures defiant chants in the protagonists’
village accent, or rocks being hurled at fleeing Israeli jeeps, ecstatic
applause filled the hall.
The film was co-directed by an Israeli activist and filmmaker, Guy
Davidi. This close association has led some people to classify 5 Broken
Cameras as an Israeli movie and it was rejected by a Morocco film
festival for this reason.
However, Burnat said it had been shown in Iran and other Middle Eastern
countries and denied that the joint production reflected any meaningful
“normalization” of relations between Israel and the Palestinians.
“(Davidi) is a solidarity activist who came to the village to show his
support. He was shown our material and agreed to help. This doesn’t
represent Israeli-Palestinian collaboration,” Burnat said. — Reuters
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