Emad Burnat

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title: "Emad Burnat" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["palestinian-film-directors", "living-people", "year-of-birth-missing-(living-people)"] description: "Palestinian farmer and filmmaker" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emad_Burnat" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Palestinian farmer and filmmaker ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Emad_Burnat_7830_c.JPG" caption="Emad Burnat in 2015"] ::

Emad Burnat is a Palestinian farmer and filmmaker, known for the documentary 5 Broken Cameras (2011). He is the first Palestinian nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

''5 Broken Cameras''

Main article: 5 Broken Cameras

His documentary 5 Broken Cameras is a first-hand account of life and demonstrations in Bil'in, a West Bank village adjacent to Israeli settlements. The film was co-directed by Burnat and Guy Davidi, an Israeli filmmaker. The film is structured in chapters around the destruction of each one of Burnat's cameras and the film follows one family's evolution over five years of village upheaval.

Five Broken Cameras is a Palestinian-Israeli-French co-production. Both the personal style of the movie and, especially, Burnat's working with an Israeli filmmaker, has been controversial amongst the Palestinian community due to the ongoing boycott against Israel by Palestinians. The boycott, however, was never intended to include a boycott of Israeli activists and the problem stems from Israel having claimed the film as their own following its Oscar nomination in 2012.

Detention at Los Angeles International Airport

On February 19, 2013, he and his family were detained at Los Angeles International Airport, when customs officials refused to believe his reason for entry. ::quote

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References

References

1. Bronner, Ethan. (January 22, 2012). "From Unyielding Cameraman, an Acclaimed Film". The New York Times.
2. (February 6, 2013). "The Story Of A West Bank Village Told With '5 Broken Cameras'".
3. Jill Serjeant, [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/michael-moore-steps-in-to-help-oscarnominated-palestinian-filmmaker-threatened-with-deportation-in-la-8504711.html Michael Moore steps in to help Oscar-nominated Palestinian filmmaker threatened with deportation in LA], [[The Independent]], February 21, 2013.
4. "Palestinian director Emad Burnat, nominated for Academy Award, detained at LAX immigration, Michael Moore tweets".
5. (20 February 2013). "Emad Burnat and Michael Moore on the Deeply Personal Struggle Behind '5 Broken Cameras'".
6. (20 February 2013). "Oscars-bound Palestinian film-maker describes 'unpleasant' LAX detention".

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