5 Broken Cameras (2011)

They used to say if you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write, for the pen is mightier than the sword, and that is true. Today, however, and in this tiny fraction of the history of mankind that we're living, you can do a little mightier than both the sword and the pen, you can pick up your camera and shoot.

5 Broken Cameras is a war documentary shot over the course of 5 years and follows Palestinian farmer Emad and the struggles he and his family have encountered in their West Bank village, Bil'in, as Israeli settlers are attempting to build an apartheid barrier that cuts off 60% of Bil'in farmland including Emad's family farm.

The documentary is structured around the destruction of Emad's five cameras while filming the evolution of his family over the years, his village resistance to the cruelty of Israeli settlements, Israeli police beating and arresting villagers including Emad's family members and friends, settlers destroying olive trees, Israeli army raids in the middle of the night to arrest children... and Israeli officials attacking him while filming. Each of the five cameras was shot or smashed while documenting these events; hence, 5 Broken Cameras.

This is a devastating body of work that was filmed by an oppressed living under an oppression in the face of their oppressor. This is a chronicle of witnessing and resistance. This is an episode of a heartbreaking reality people have to live and die through that's caused by a heartless occupation in the name of nonsense. This is a non-violent, yet mighty poem of resilience, a shout-out for peace and prosperity, and a hopeful prayer for a better tomorrow.

Palestinian self-taught photographer Emad Burnat speaks his heart and soul through the lenses of his five cameras, the cameras that give him air to breath, voice to speak, and memory to remember... and above all else, a reason to live.

Guy Davidi, an Israeli filmmaker, was approached by Emad Burnat and the two would create the film from these five broken cameras and the stories behind each. Davidi was criticized by Israeli media and activists and was accused of being a traitor and a liar after screening the film for Israeli high school students, "they got angry at me, accused me of lying and being a traitor. But the anger is really against the whole system that lied to them.... So I tell the kids, 'Go ahead and get mad at me. Take it all out on me. Soon you will realize that your anger is not against me, but against the whole system that lied to you.'". Though Israeli media, officials, and activists won't stop referring to it as an Israeli film, especially after the universal acclaimed success and multi award-nominations, including the Oscar's, Davidi stated in an interview that he does not represent Israel, only himself.

The music by Le Trio Joubran, particularly their mesmerizing album 'Majaz' that was used in the film, speaks for its own and seamlessly translates the incomprehensible images into a swallowable bites of emotions. My heart is wrenching while listening to their heavenly oud trio in the background as I'm writing this.

Noble art has often been associated with those works that touch the human condition and experience closely and provide a neutral perspective on a specific matter of and about the people, my words fail to describe the type of art that is fought, wronged, and almost died before seeing the light.

5 Broken Cameras is a masterpiece of realism, a 21st century brave and honest documentation of an otherwise unjust world.

"I knew since the beginning that the camera is a very strong witness and a very strong weapon." ~ Emad Burnat

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Available to watch on "YouTube", Google Play, iTunes, Vimeo, and on Amazon Prime Video

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