Fri, 26 Oct, live panel discussion follows the screening. Also showing 28 & 29 Oct – tickets and info here.
“As raw as the material of 5 Broken Cameras can be, it is also lyrical and elegiac.” Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times
An extraordinary work of both cinematic and political activism, 5 Broken Cameras is a deeply personal, first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil’in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. As Israel’s controversial ‘security barrier’ is built through their village, olive groves and buildings are destroyed by Israeli troops; violent protests are even more violently suppressed, and in the process the five cameras of the title are smashed.
Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, the footage was later given to Israeli co-director Guy Davidi to edit. Structured around the violent destruction of each one of Burnat’s cameras, the filmmakers’ collaboration follows one family’s evolution over five years of village turmoil. Burnat watches from behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify, and lives are lost. “I feel like the camera protects me,” he says, “but it’s an illusion.”
The panel consists of:
Moshé Machover is an Israeli socialist, founding member of the Socialist Organization in Israel (Matzpen). He is now living in London. A collection of his essays Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Resolution, has recently been published by Haymarket Books.
Abdul-Rehman Malik is London-based journalist, educator and organiser. He is currently programmes manager for the Radical Middle Way, which works – in the UK and around the world – to create platforms for open debate, critical thinking and deep spiritual reflection enabling change, promoting social justice and combating exclusion and violence. A frequent commentator on matters of faith, modernity and Muslim communities, Abdul-Rehman’s work has been featured in media around the world. He can be heard regularly on BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought and recently featured at the Greenbelt Festival and spoke at The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival.
