Palestinian Filmmaker Detained at Los Angeles Airport on Way to Oscars

NEWS, ANGLO AMERICA, PALESTINE - ISRAEL, ARTS, 25 Feb 2013

Alex Dobuzinskis, Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service

A Palestinian filmmaker on his way to the Academy Awards said on Wednesday [20 Feb 2013] 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, his wife and 8-year-old son aside when they arrived in Los Angeles from Turkey on Tuesday evening.

“Immigration officials asked for proof that I was nominated for an Academy Award … and they told me that if I couldn’t prove the reason for my visit, my wife Soraya, my son Gibreel and I would be sent back to Turkey on the same day,” Burnat said in a statement.

Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said in a series of Twitter messages that he stepped in to help resolve the situation.

“Although he (Burnat) produced the Oscar invite nominees receive, that wasn’t good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to Palestine. … Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn’t understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help … I called Academy officials who called lawyers. I told Emad to give the officers my phone # and to say my name a couple of times,” Moore tweeted on Tuesday evening.

Burnat said he and his family were detained for about an hour.

U.S. officials declined to comment on the incident, citing privacy laws.

“Travelers may be referred for further inspection for a variety of reasons to include identity verification, intent of travel, and confirmation of admissibility,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. “The United States has been, and continues to be, a welcoming nation.”

Burnat, a farmer, is the amateur filmmaker behind “5 Broken Cameras,” which documents about five years of protests against land seizures by Israeli forces and Jewish settlers in his village of Bil’in in the occupied West Bank. It was co-directed by Israeli activist and filmmaker Guy Davidi.

It is the first Palestinian film to be nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars, according to representatives for the film.

“5 Broken Cameras” is one of five films nominated for an Oscar in the documentary category. One of its competitors is Israeli film “The Gatekeepers,” which looks at the decades-old Middle East conflict through the eyes of six top former Israeli intelligence bosses.

The Oscars, the highest awards in the movie industry, will be presented on Sunday in Hollywood.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Stacey Joyce)

Go to Original – reuters.com

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One Response to “Palestinian Filmmaker Detained at Los Angeles Airport on Way to Oscars”

1. satoshi says:

   6 Mar 2013 at 14:23

   Do the Immigration & Customs officers at the Los Angeles Airport believe that the nominee for the Academic Awards is selected according to his or her citizenship or nationality? Test the Immigration & Customs officers at the Los Angeles Airport: What if the nominee was a Cambodian? What if the nominee was a Rwandan? What if the nominee was a Bosnian? What if the nominee was a Serb? What if the nominee was a Kosovar? What if the nominee was an Iraqi? What if the nominee was an Afghan? What if the nominee was an Egyptian? What if the nominee was a Libyan? What if the nominee was a Syrian? And so on and so forth.

   —–

   Think the other way around. Imagine as follows:

   An American cook was selected as a nominee for the Chinese food cooking champion at the international Chinese food cooking contest and he was invited to Beijing, China. Would the Chinese Immigration & Customs at the Beijing Airport stop the American cook and say, “Although he (the American cook) produced the Chinese food cooking contest invite nominees receive, that wasn’t good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to the United States. … Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn’t understand how an American could be a Chinese food cooking contest champion nominee”?

   An American dancer was selected as a nominee for the flamenco dancing champion of the international flamenco dancing contest and he was invited to Madrid, Spain. Would the Spanish Immigration & Customs at the Madrid-Marajs Airport stop the American dancer and say, “Although he (the American dancer) produced the flamenco dancing contest invite nominees receive, that wasn’t good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to the United States. … Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn’t understand how an American could be a flamenco dancing contest champion nominee”?

   An American singer was selected as a nominee for the chanson singing champion at the international chanson singing contest and he was invited to Paris, France. Would the French Immigration & Customs at the Charles de Gaulle (or at the Orly) Airport stop the American singer and say, “Although he (the American singer) produced the chanson singing contest invite nominees receive, that wasn’t good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to the United States. … Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn’t understand how an American could be a chanson singing contest champion nominee”?

   An American watch-worker was selected as a nominee for the watch assembling champion at the international watch assembling contest and he was invited to Geneva, Switzerland. Would the Swiss Immigration & Customs at the Geneva Airport stop the American watch-worker and say, “Although he (the American watch-worker) produced the watch assembling contest invite nominees receive, that wasn’t good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to the United States. … Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn’t understand how an American could be a watch assembling contest champion nominee”?

   American President was selected as the Nobel Peace Prize winner and he was invited to Oslo, Norway. Would the Norwegian Immigration & Customs at the Oslo Airport stop the American President and say, “Although he (the American President) produced the Nobel Peace Prize invite receive, that wasn’t good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to the United States. … Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn’t understand how an American President could be a Nobel Peace Prize winner”?

   Through the above imaginary examples, I would like to clarify the essence of the logic of the Immigration & Customs officers at the Los Angeles Airport.

   —–

   Quote from the above article:
   “Travelers may be referred for further inspection for a variety of reasons to include identity verification, intent of travel, and confirmation of admissibility,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. “The United States has been, and continues to be, a welcoming nation.”
   Unquote:

   Analyze the logic in the above mentioned statement of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Rearrange the same statement. Then, the logic in their argument becomes much clearer as follows:

   “The United States has been, and continues to be, a welcoming nation. Why? Because travelers may be referred for further inspection for a variety of reasons to include identity verification, intent of travel, and confirmation of admissibility.”

   If you are preparing a tourism brochure of your city, or if you are a hotel manager who needs to write something in front of the hotel, write like this: “Our city/hotel has been, and continues to be, a welcoming city/hotel because travelers may be referred for further inspection for a variety of reasons to include identity verification, intent of travel, and confirmation of admissibility.”

   —–

   Congratulations, Mr. Emad Burnat, for being nominated for the Academy Awards. (By now, I believe that he is at his home in Palestine, (hopefully) having a good time with his family and friends.)