David Siegel needed all his diplomatic skills to make lemonade out of the lemons handed to him by the Oscar-nominated documentaries ‘The Gatekeepers” and “5 Broken Cameras.” The Israeli Consul General in Los Angeles acknowledged that both films criticize the government’s policies toward the Palestinians, but asserted that they underscore Israel’s diversity of opinion and…
At this year’s Academy Awards, Israel’s blossoming film industry has two nominations for the Best Documentary Award. In this highly competitive category, Israel is dominating with “The Gatekeepers,” following former chiefs of the Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service operators, who give a tell-all expose of some of the most notorious operations in the West Bank…
By the time Emad Burnat arrived at the reception for Oscar nominated documentary filmmakers, he’d been more than 24 hours on the road. His journey started off at him home village of Bilin in the West Bank, took him through roadblocks on the way to Jericho, hours of waiting at the border crossing to Jordan…
An Oscar-nominated Israeli documentary has brought little joy to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the focus of the film’s criticism of Israel’s policy toward the Palestinians. Featuring searingly confessional interviews with six former chiefs of the shadowy security service Shin Bet, “The Gatekeepers” portrays the 46-year-old West Bank occupation and Jewish ultranationalism as threats to…
A Palestinian filmmaker on his way to the Academy Awards said on Wednesday he was held at Los Angeles International Airport and threatened with deportation before being allowed into the United States. Emad Burnat, whose “5 Broken Cameras” is competing for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Feature category, said U.S. immigration officials took him,…
Michael Moore, the American film director, sent a message Wednesday on his Twitter social networking account saying that the Palestinian co-director of the film “5 Broken Cameras,” Emad Burnat, had been detained early Wednesday morning by U.S. immigration officials at Los Angeles International Airport after arriving at the airport overnight. Burnat flew to Los Angeles…
Last year, in a nearly empty screening room, I saw what became an Academy Award finalist in the documentary category, “5 Broken Cameras.” I then interviewed filmmaker Guy Davidi about his background and his work on the film for The Arty Semite. Recently I had another email conversation with Davidi, discussing how he’s faring with…
Barbra Streisand will take the stage at this year’s Academy Awards on February 24, for the first time in 36 years. Streisand, 70, last performed in 1977 to sing the theme song for “A Star Is Born.” She also appeared at the 75th Academy Awards, in 2003, to present Eminem with the Best Original Song…
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