5 Broken Cameras

Dir: Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi

2011

*****

In 2005, Israel began construction of an Israeli West Bank barrier in the West Bank village of Bil’in, Palestine. At the same time, Emad Burnat, a resident of Bil’in, bought his very first video camera to record the birth of his son. Discovering that the wall would cut through their agricultural land, confiscating half of it, the people of Bil'in initiated popular protests and Burnat decided to film it. Over time the conflict got worse and the peaceful protests soon turned violent with the Israeli army attacking the Palestinians without retaliation. Thanks to Burnat's film, they were soon joined by Israeli and international activists, who would watch his footage online. After four years of filming, Burnat was approached by Greenhouse, a Mediterranean film development project, to develop a documentary. Unsure of how to properly edit his footage, Burnat sought the help of Guy Davidi, an Israeli filmmaker who had recently made a documentary of a similar theme. Davidi suggested that Burnat should bring himself into the story and act as narrator so that is what he did. Burnat shows off his new born son with the protests and the barrier being built in the background. We see the conflict escalate as we watch his son grow. Burnat ponders how the situation will affect all his children and what kind of a man it will turn his son into. Over the six years that Burnat filmed he used 5 different cameras, most of them breaking due to damage while filming, two of them being shot at by Israeli soldiers. The documentary has been accused of being biased but it isn't, what you see is what happened no matter what any paper or government have said (the 1984 line 'The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears' rings true here). The people of Bil’in clearly agitate the solders from their side but they always try to meet them in discussion. When they are shot at from the other side without any physical provocation the actions speak for themselves. When one of Burnat's best friends is shot dead beside him as he films the escalation of the conflict hits home with a short sharp shock. Thanks to Burnat we see the whole conflict from the beginning, the burning of Olive trees, to the erection of a fence to the huge looming concrete wall that surrounds the village. It is one of the most important pieces of film to be recorded in the last half-century. Imagine similar historical conflicts with insider footage such as this. The footage is brilliantly edited and Guy Davidi's advice was spot on. Burnat received criticism for working with an Israeli but for me this is one of the film's most positive aspects. Unbelievably, when the film was nominated for an Oscar the Israeli government wanted to take credit for it being their film. Burnat has stated that it is 100% a Palestinian film, and of course it is. However, like Davidi said,”although technically it was a “Palestinian-Israeli-French production since there is finance from these countries, I don’t think films should have citizenships.” 5 Broken Cameras is for everyone, especially for Palestinians but for the world to learn from. It's incredible footage, deeply disturbing but important to see.