5 Broken Cameras (2012)
93%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
18 wins & 10 nominations total
5 Broken Cameras is a poignant and powerful documentary that captures the human tragedy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of a humble video camera. Burnat’s personal testimony, filmed over five years on damaged equipment, offers an unflinching look at the campaign of terror waged on Palestinian villages in Gaza by the Israeli military. While some critics may argue that the film offers nothing innately new to audiences engaged in current events, the fact that Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers could come together and collaborate on such a contentious subject matter offers a glimmer of hope for peace in the region. This is a tough watch that will leave you despairing, but also inspired by the resilience of the human spirit in the face of oppression.
If you’re looking for a documentary that’ll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, 5 Broken Cameras is not it. But if you want a raw, unfiltered look at the conflict between Palestine and Israel, then this film is a must-watch. The footage captured on these broken cameras is both heartbreaking and infuriating, and it’s a testament to the power of the video camera as a tool for political activism. Sure, it’s a one-sided perspective, but can you blame the filmmaker for wanting to document the atrocities being committed against his people? Overall, 5 Broken Cameras is a tough but necessary watch for anyone who wants to understand the reality of life in the West Bank.
Production Company(ies)
Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions,
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Bil’in, Ramallah and al-Bireh, Palestine
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2012
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.78 : 1
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):Hebrew, Arabic
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Country of origin:France, Israel, Palestine, The Netherlands
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 3, 2012 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 15, 2013
Genre(s)
Documentary/War
Keyword(s)
5 Broken Cameras, documentary, war, Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi, directed by Emad Burnat, directed by Guy Davidi, written by Emad Burnat, written by Guy Davidi, Palestinian, Israeli settlements, resistance, video camera, political oppression, nonviolent resistance, Bil’in, Israeli army, security wall, illegal Israeli settlements, protests, peaceful, international activists, land, olives, livelihood, personal testimony, human tragedy, Palestinian villages, Gaza, Israeli military, one-sided film, historical context, Israeli violence, unarmed protestors, suffering, lack of progress, peace process, Nakba, Palestinian Exodus, refugees, ethnically cleansed, Israeli Jews, nonviolent protest group, tear gas, live rounds, exhibitionist film-maker, wrongs, angering, awareness, heavy on the side of the Palestinians, memorable characters, highlights, interweave, landscape, changes, youngest son, newborn, young boy, story arcs, raises awareness, top horror movies, MCU movies, renewed and cancelled TV shows, best Netflix series
Worldwide gross: $146,475
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $188,839
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,940
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 20,593
US/Canada gross: $109,983
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $141,793
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,601
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,674
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $8,604
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,733
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Yisrael Puterman – self
Emad Burnat – director, producer
Guy Davidi – director, producer
Director(s)
Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
18 wins & 10 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (48) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (2)
This is how the conflict looks from the other side of the barrier.
February 21, 2013
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
TOP CRITIC
A fascinating reminder of why the humble video camera can be used as a weapon against political oppression.
October 24, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Sherwyn Spencer
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
It is of course a one-sided film, but a powerful personal testimony: the kind of material that never makes the nightly news.
October 18, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Each broken camera records a human tragedy as it flickers with its last gaze.
October 18, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
Burnat’s first-person footage of skirmishes with Israeli forces, filmed over five years on the titular damaged equipment, should have been allowed to tell its own story.
October 18, 2012 | Rating: 2/5
Robbie Collin
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A tough watch that’ll leave you despairing of peace anytime soon.
October 16, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Cath Clarke
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A documentary that needs to be seen in the U.S. and around the world: its evidence of the campaign of terror waged on Palestinian villages in Gaza by the Israeli military is incontrovertible.
February 28, 2020
B. Ruby Rich
Film Quarterly
5 Broken Cameras is definitely worth a look but offers nothing innately new to audiences engaged in current events.
July 25, 2019
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
Burnat presents an extremely personal insight into an incredibly complex situation that’s almost impossible to wholly grasp — and as such, may well inevitably leave some cinemagoers a little cold.
February 5, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
Daniel Green
CineVue
… the very fact that Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers could come together and collaborate on a film dealing with such contentious subject matter offers more optimism than anything in “Five Broken Cameras” itself.
February 22, 2018
Steve Erickson
Gay City News
Here you get a rare glimpse of exactly what the interface between a West Bank resident and the Israeli army has been like …
April 13, 2016
Michael Atkinson
In These Times
5 Broken Cameras is cinema made – not as if – but really, literally because the life of the film-maker depends on it.
December 29, 2013 | Rating: 86/100
Dan Jardine
Cinemania…
Plot
5 Broken Cameras is a documentary about a Palestinian man’s five-year struggle to resist Israeli settlements encroaching on his village, recorded through the lens of his broken cameras.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
One of the producers of 5 Broken Cameras is also the film’s co-director, Emad Burnat.
Emad-Burnat.jpg
