Brilliant Palestinian director Emad Burnat whose film 5 Broken Cameras is nominated was detained at LAX last night because officials didn’t believe the man was REALLY in town for the Academy Awards. LAX is known for racial profiling, but doesn’t anyone at LAX security have an IPAD?
Film Director Emad Burnat is a critically inspiring filmmaker. His film 5 Broken Cameras won the World Cinema Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012.The film also received the Special Broadcaster IDFA Audience Award and the Special Jury Award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in 2011. The film maker is here because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has seen fit to nominate his work for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Film this year.
Mr. Burnat was held for an hour-and-a-half while officials grilled him about his visit. Emad, his wife & 8-yr old son were placed in a holding area and told they didn’t have the proper invitation on them to attend the Oscars.”
Burnat continued, “Although he produced the Oscar invite nominees receive, that wasn’t good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to Palestine.”
So he called Filmmaker and Friend Michael Moore.
Moore explains “I called Academy officials who called lawyers. I told Emad to give the officers my phone # and to say my name a couple of times.”
“After 1.5 hrs, they decided to release him & his family & told him he could stay in L.A. for the week & go to the Oscars. Welcome to America.”
“‘It’s nothing I’m not already used to,’ Burnat told Michael later. ‘When u live under occupation, with no rights, this is a daily occurrence.'”
Moore concluded … “He was certain they were going to deport him. But not if I had anything to do about it.”
High security is one thing but taking a powerful position to far is another. Mr. Burnat may be used to it but we here in America often take our imagined freedom just a bit to lightly. When I say imagined, it can be especially if you look like what people perceive the enemy looks like. These are the same individuals who should be looking in the mirror, to see the real enemy lurking.
We’ve reached out to LAX and immigration officials — so far, no comment.
The LA mayors office should send out a welcome gift as some kind of recompense, but I am sure our good mayor is to busy running for his next position.
Lets also mention 5 Broken Cameras is a 2011 documentary film co-directed by Palestinian Emad Burnat and Israeli Guy Davidi 5 Broken Cameras is a first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil’in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. The documentary was shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son. In 2009 Israeli co-director Guy Davidi joined on to create the film. Structured around the destruction of Burnat’s cameras, the filmmakers’ collaboration follows one family’s evolution over five years of turmoil.
Israel began construction of the separation fence in the West Bank village of Bil’in in 2005. Discovering that the fence would cut through their agricultural land, confiscating 50% of it, the villagers initiated a popular resistance and were joined by Israeli and international peace activists. At that moment Emad received a camera to document the movement.
The first year, Emad filmed mainly for activists needs. His footage was introduced as evidence in Israeli court and put on youtube to create awareness for the growing movement.
With growing media interest in Bil’in, Emad’s footage gained international recognition and was used by local and international news agencies. Emad started working as a freelance photographer to Reuters and provided footage to filmmakers to document the villagers’ fight in notable films such as Shai Carmeli Pollac’s “Bil’in, my love” and Guy Davidi’s and Alesandre Goetschmann “Interrupted streams
Emad was approached in 2009 by Greenhouse, a Mediterranean film development project, to develop a documentary. (Spoiler) The project focused on the non-violent movement and especially on Bassem Abu-Rahme, who was killed in a demonstration earlier that year at a demonstration in Bil’in (end of spoiler). After some difficulties, Emad approached Israeli Filmmaker, Guy Davidi who had just finished editing “Interrupted Streams”, Davidi’s first feature documentary which was released in 2010 at the Jerusalem International Film Festival.
Davidi shaped a new concept in which Emad would be a protagonist in the film telling the story from the subjective view of a cameraman. Davidi also proposed that the film be structured around Emad’s cameras. Using home-video footage Emad filmed of his family, the personal and family narrative was added to the film.
From 2009 under the new concept, Emad continued to film more scenes with greater focus on his family’s reactions to the events. A few important scenes shot by other cameramen (including Guy Davidi) were used to supplement the narrative, and to introduce Emad as a character.
Spy Hollywood says welcome, we are always inspired by great film making as well as story telling. We wish you great success on Sunday night. and Michael Moore you are once again a hero to film makers. Thank You.
Spy Media Staff
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