SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
(Photo: Kino Lorber)
Oscar Nominated Palestinian Filmmaker Detained at Los Angeles Airport
'When you live under occupation, with no rights, this is a daily occurrence'
Feb 20, 2013
Oscar nominated Palestinian filmmaker Emad Burnat was detained at Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday night with his wife and 8-year-old son, who had all arrived in Los Angeles ahead of the Academy Awards.
Despite showing immigration officers the Oscar invitation for his critically acclaimed film 5 Broken Cameras, Burnat and his family were held for 90 minutes. Officers told Burnat he did not have permission to enter the United States and threatened to send him "back to Palestine."
It wasn't until Burnat contacted his friend Michael Moore, who in turn contacted lawyers and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that Burnat and his family were allowed to enter the country.
"Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn't understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help," Moore tweeted Wednesday.
"It's nothing I'm not already used to," Emad later told Moore. "When you live under occupation, with no rights, this is a daily occurrence."
Burnat's film is nominated for Best Documentary.
The film tells the story of the residents of a small village, Bil'in, in the West Bank, and their fight to stop to the expansion of the Israeli separation wall on their land and the continued spread of illegal Jewish settlements.
Burnat would be the first Palestinian to win an Oscar.
Watch the trailer for 5 Broken Cameras:
Below Burnat and co-director Israeli activist Guy Davidi discuss the film with Laura Flanders:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Jacob Chamberlain
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
Oscar nominated Palestinian filmmaker Emad Burnat was detained at Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday night with his wife and 8-year-old son, who had all arrived in Los Angeles ahead of the Academy Awards.
Despite showing immigration officers the Oscar invitation for his critically acclaimed film 5 Broken Cameras, Burnat and his family were held for 90 minutes. Officers told Burnat he did not have permission to enter the United States and threatened to send him "back to Palestine."
It wasn't until Burnat contacted his friend Michael Moore, who in turn contacted lawyers and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that Burnat and his family were allowed to enter the country.
"Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn't understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help," Moore tweeted Wednesday.
"It's nothing I'm not already used to," Emad later told Moore. "When you live under occupation, with no rights, this is a daily occurrence."
Burnat's film is nominated for Best Documentary.
The film tells the story of the residents of a small village, Bil'in, in the West Bank, and their fight to stop to the expansion of the Israeli separation wall on their land and the continued spread of illegal Jewish settlements.
Burnat would be the first Palestinian to win an Oscar.
Watch the trailer for 5 Broken Cameras:
Below Burnat and co-director Israeli activist Guy Davidi discuss the film with Laura Flanders:
Jacob Chamberlain
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
Oscar nominated Palestinian filmmaker Emad Burnat was detained at Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday night with his wife and 8-year-old son, who had all arrived in Los Angeles ahead of the Academy Awards.
Despite showing immigration officers the Oscar invitation for his critically acclaimed film 5 Broken Cameras, Burnat and his family were held for 90 minutes. Officers told Burnat he did not have permission to enter the United States and threatened to send him "back to Palestine."
It wasn't until Burnat contacted his friend Michael Moore, who in turn contacted lawyers and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that Burnat and his family were allowed to enter the country.
"Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn't understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help," Moore tweeted Wednesday.
"It's nothing I'm not already used to," Emad later told Moore. "When you live under occupation, with no rights, this is a daily occurrence."
Burnat's film is nominated for Best Documentary.
The film tells the story of the residents of a small village, Bil'in, in the West Bank, and their fight to stop to the expansion of the Israeli separation wall on their land and the continued spread of illegal Jewish settlements.
Burnat would be the first Palestinian to win an Oscar.
Watch the trailer for 5 Broken Cameras:
Below Burnat and co-director Israeli activist Guy Davidi discuss the film with Laura Flanders:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.