Why I’m happy ‘5 broken cameras’ didn’t win Oscar - Review
Gaza, April 29, ‘Five Broken Cameras’ is an award-winning documentary
(94 minutes) that was directed and
created by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi. It’s
also an Academy Award nominee for “Best Documentary feature”. The plot is a
mere adaptation of reality. Its about a portion of a Palestinian farmer’s life,
Emad burnat, and his nonviolent resistance against occupation and oppression
which leads to the damage of five cameras. Emad never stops filming even after
getting shot, being arrested and facing a lethal accident that left him with
serious injuries that took a long while to heal. But will his emotional scars
ever heal?
Its important that Palestine was represented at the Oscars this
year, although our existence doesn’t need any further proof. Most predicted
that the documentary wont win, but its participation was enough.
I’m happy that the documentary didn’t win an Academy Award
because it deserves more, its beyond Oscar winning. If it won an Oscar it will
be known as the Palestinian Documentary that won an Oscar, which in my opinion
is very limiting and handicapping, this documentary held the plight of the
Palestinian people and their devotion for peace, freedom and resistance. Its
better be known as the documentary that told a huge part of the Palestinian
story from a native narrative. Its larger than any award it can ever win.
‘Five Broken Cameras’ won the “World Cinema Directing” award
on the category of Documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival, and the “Special
Jury and Audience” award at IDFA Film Festival. It was described by The New
York Times as “A moving and rigorous work of art”.
You would think 94 minutes are too long but not in this
case. I sailed through those long minutes very smoothly yet very emotionally
provoked by the organic, real and raw material. It’s a very colorful documentary,
lets not forget that black is also a color.
Its narrated by Emad Burnat, who is also one of the directors and
the one who took most of the footage since this revolves around his family, his struggle,
his village and his friends. Emad is a self-taught cameraman who found in
filming a passion and a way of resistance, nonviolent resistance.
It starts with the birth of Gibreel, Emad’s fourth son, in
2005, Emad gets his first Camera. Gibreel comes with the spark of popular
nonviolent resistance in the form of peaceful unarmed protests against the separation
wall and the gobbling of Palestinian lands by violent and vicious Israeli
settlers who are always backed by the Israeli police and army.
Emad takes us through his first-hand accounts of the
gathering and organizing of the nonviolent protests that happen each week in
the West Bank and gives justice for the Israeli and foreign activists who help Palestinians a
great deal in this peaceful resistance. Many of them have died and got
seriously injured by the Israeli Army but they are always there to help
Palestinians.
The documentary pinpoints many other crucial issues that the
mainstream media tends to neglect:
1-
Palestinian women and the
importance of their role in the society.
2-
Children arrests that are
usually done by the Israeli army at night, dragging
little kids out of their beds (not shown in the documentary, only the arrests
are shown).
3-
How vicious and violent the
Israeli military is, and how they can arrest anyone unrightfully.
4-
How vicious the Israeli settlers can be, and how violent, especially
when backed by the Israeli military.
5-
The amount of teargas that
Israel uses against civilians protesting nonviolently is like pouring rain,
teargas is very dangerous and suffocating, and if the canister hit the body
directly it can cause death.
6-
How the Israeli military
jeeps are always around in the West Bank.
7-
How united Palestinians are
in both Gaza and the West bank despite the political separation.
8-
How selfless Israeli and
foreign activists are, they endanger their lives to protest peacefully side by
side with the Palestinians and always pay a high price for it by either being
killed or injured or deported.
Perhaps one of the most shocking
and frightening scenes was when Bassem Abu Rahmah’s brother gets arrested by
the Israeli army, they blindfold him and then shoot him in the leg on a very
close range. The documentary included many chilling scenes like the weekly
protests and how violent they can get, Emad’s lethal accident that leaves him
nearly dead and the arrest of little children and how devastated their mothers
would be.
But the most chilling, horrifying
and most devastating scene is when Bassem Abu Rahmah gets shot directly in the head and
chest with a teargas canister by an Israeli soldier and dies nearly
instantly. I lost my breath. The ambiance that you feel whenever the scenes
included Bassem was happy and smiley and hopeful. Children loved him and he was
always smiling, singing and spreading hope. He was never violent or armed, they
killed him when he was shouting “You just shot an Israeli girl”, he was trying
to save the Israeli activist. His death shocked the whole village and everyone
participated in his funeral.
The documentary is filled with a
mixture of happy and sad moments, not really ambiguous, just the contradictions
of real life that we all pass through, sometimes on a daily basis. I will be contacting both Guy and Emad for a possible screening and appearance in Gaza, hoping that this will shorten the gap between Gaza and the West Bank.
The documentary offers a native
narrative and personal accounts not just a perspective. Its very raw, real and
revolutionary. Its shows, even if on a small scale, the Palestinian determination
and their defiance of oppression and occupation. Nonviolent resistance has been
a trending method in Palestine adopted by many people and backed by
international activists.
The documentary ends with a
promise (or a pledge) made by Emad to keep filming no matter what it takes,
which resembles and the fight of Palestinians against occupation which also
continues no matter what it takes.
The Audio bridge was on point. Le
Trio Jubran’s music made the documentary even more chilling and supported the
narration and the events very well.
'Five Broken Cameras' generated a huge media buzz, specially in the US. Many interviews conducted with the directors and many articles tackled different sides of it whether its the production or the funding or the experience. The documentary even made it on HBO's "Veep", a television comedy series. It was mentioned in a provocative way, it sparked a controversy that many stood with and against, watch the segment here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3POTr9poyIs
'Five Broken Cameras' generated a huge media buzz, specially in the US. Many interviews conducted with the directors and many articles tackled different sides of it whether its the production or the funding or the experience. The documentary even made it on HBO's "Veep", a television comedy series. It was mentioned in a provocative way, it sparked a controversy that many stood with and against, watch the segment here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3POTr9poyIs
In conclusion, ‘Five Broken
Cameras’ is a must watch, see it for yourself and tell me what you think. You can
watch it online here:
And if you are interested in a
more detailed look into the pre and post production info, budget and filming, you
can check:
Peace and love,
Omar from Gaza
