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Ramallah: A Palestinian film portraying the life of a
Palestinian photographer and his son in a village witnessing the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict on daily basis was nominated for an
Oscar in the documentary feature category.
“5 Broken Cameras,' the documentary directed by Emad Burnat and
Guy Davidi, tells the story of a Palestinian man who lives in the
small Palestinian village of Bilin, northwest of Ramallah, which
is most famous for its popular and nonviolent weekly protests
which started back in 2005, WAFA news agency reported.
The entire
movie was shot in and around Bilin and presents the stories of the
director, Burnat, who took upon himself the responsibility of
documenting the Israeli violations, raids, peaceful protests, the
life of his son who was born with the beginning of the nonviolent
resistance movement in the village and other outstanding figures
and friends in the village.
The title of the documentary refers to the five cameras that were
smashed by Israeli soldiers while recording the struggle and
steadfastness of the people of Bilin.
“I started documenting what
happens in Bilin from Israeli violations and raids to protests
held by the residents as a way to expose the Israeli practices
against Palestinians,” Burnat told WAFA.
“I later decided that I
want to make a movie that tells the story of Bilin through
authentic Palestinian voices.” Burnat said he asked the help of
Davidi who used to come to Bilin a lot to film and participate in
the protests.
“I don’t think the help of an Israeli director has
affected the movie in the least since I am well aware of Davidi’s
position regarding the conflict,” he said.
When asked about Israeli media referring to the movie as an
Israeli film, he said that the film is 100% Palestinian made by a
Palestinian director and tells the story of the Palestinians of
Bilin.
He said “Israel is trying to take advantage of this
nomination and attribute it to itself.”
Burnat spent five years
working on his documentary which received high ratings by both
critics and activists around the globe and was screened in the
United States and many European countries and received about 25
international awards.
A review published in the Observer said that the movie “presents
with overwhelming power a case of injustice on a massive scale,
and gives a direct experience of what it's like to be on the
receiving end of oppression and dispossession, administered by the
unyielding, stony-faced representatives of those convinced of
their own righteousness.”
Burnat said that the movie is a huge
success not only for him as the director or the people of Bilin,
but for every Palestinian who believe in the lawfulness of the
Palestinian cause.
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