Two Israeli Documentary Films are Nominated for Oscars

Two films -- both of which appear on my list of "best films of 2012" -- have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Film.  

The two films are --

• ·         Five Broken Cameras by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, about the Palestinian resistance movement in the village of Bili'in, against the separation barrier which was arbitrarily dividing the people of the village from their agricultural lands.
• ·         The Gatekeepers by Dror Moreh, an exposé of the critical decision-making by the leadership of the Shin Bet, the Israeli security establishment.

The fact that two Israeli films were nominated for an Oscar is incredibly important for the Israeli film industry.  It shows that documentary filmmaking here is on par with that around the world and that our films are not only well-made, but they also tackle important and controversial issues.

There is another reason that it is so important that we have reached this milestone -- this will bring both local and international attention to the subject matter of the films.  Both films deal with how the Israeli military controls the civilian population in the West Bank.  Right-wingers in Israel don't like the term -- but the "occupation" is the word used by most of the Western press and some of the Israeli press to refer to Israeli rule of most of the West Bank for the past 45 years .  While this is a stark reality that has been facing us for a long time, most Israelis live in denial about it and prefer not to know the details. These two films present them in their harsh reality, which must no longer be ignored.

You might be surprised to learn that it is hardly part of the nation's discourse in the upcoming elections.  Most of the "mainstream" Israeli  political parties are not discussing  plans for renewing the peace process, for bringing about "two states for two peoples", or beginning to talk about the need to withdraw from settlements in the West Bank as a compromise on the road to peace.  

The irony is that  the attention that these films will receive in Hollywood may bring these subjects back into the center of public debate within Israeli society.

Jerusalem Film Festival Awards

The Jerusalem Film Festival 2012 award for best feature film goes to Sharqiya (previously reviewed on this blog).  

According to the jury -- "With gentleness and restraint, Livne depicts the world of a Bedouin family whose home is assigned for demolition. Through their confrontation with the authorities, and with little dialogue, the audience becomes familiar with this small family unit with its varied tensions. "

The best documentary award went to Five Broken Cameras (previously reviewed on this blog).

Congratulations to the filmmakers!

Resistance to the Separation Barrier

Five Broken Cameras, directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, a documentary (90 minutes) which premiered this week at the Jerusalem Film festival, is about the Palestinian resistance movement against the placement of the concrete separation barrier which, in many places, was a land grab by Israel. 

 

Emad Burnat is a self-taught cameraman from the Palestinian village of Bil'in (near Modi'in Ilit).  In the year 2005, when he got his first camera, the citizens of Bil'in were beginning a resistance movement (based on the resistance movement begun in Budrus  -- see the review of the film Budrus on this blog), in order to have the separation barrier moved so that their cultivated lands and olive groves would not be cut off from the village. At the same time that the resistance movement begins, a fourth son named Gibreel is born to Burnat.  This film combines the personal and the political/national, documenting Gibreel's growth and development during the first five years of his life with that of the protest movement.  

The film is beautifully photographed and also narrated in a thoughtful and personal style.  Burnat is responsible for both -- he is the main cameraman and the voice-over narrator.  He talks about his two best friends -- Adeeb and Phil -- who are leaders of the protest movement.  He says Phil is optimistic and thick-skinned, like an elephant (his name in Arabic).  In one touching scene, Phil sends  little Gibreel to bring an olive branch to one of the Israeli soldiers.  

 Burnat's cameras are destroyed one after the other.  But Bil'in becomes a symbol and people come from all over the world to support the resistance.   In order to protest the new trailers of the settlers, the Bil'in protesters put down a trailer on their land.  When the settlers use a law that says once concrete structures are built, they cannot be removed, the protesters in Bil'in also decide to make use of this law and they create an "outpost".  The settlers retaliate at night by burning olive trees.   Burnat calls it an "endless cycle".  

The demonstrations in Bil'in continue week after week.  As the demonstrators are pushed back, the rock-throwing begins and the soldiers retaliate with guns and teargas.  Burnat says, "Clinging to non-violence ideals isn't easy when death is all around."   There is a clear escalation when the soldiers change course and come into the village, even at night, and there are more clashes.  Burnat is arrested for throwing stones (which we know is unfounded because he is continuously filming at the demonstrations) and then he's released and put under house arrest.  "I know they might knock on my door at any moment, but I'll keep filming.  It helps me to confront life," says Burnat.

I don't want to give away the end of the film -- but those who follow the news already know -- as a result of a court decision and five years of protest, the barrier is dismantled and moved further away.  Burnat says that even though some of the lands are returned to their owners, "the land will always bear the scars."

Five Broken Cameras is available from Guy Davidi -- guydvd@gmail.com