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Patrick A. McCoy
Film 101
Michelle Simonsen
5/18/2014
5 Broken Cameras and New Third Cinema
Emad Burnat and Guy Davidis Award Winning 5 Broken Cameras is an excellent
example of the activist documentaries that seek to promote socio-political change. The
filmmakers themselves espouse this particular ideology where they say:
5 Broken Cameras was made to inspire, and not just to be interpreted as part of
the political discourse although it is, of course, an important part of it. We made
the film with sincere initiative, trying to challenge our own assumptions and avoid
clich. In the end, we hope everyone will come away with open hearts (Lorber).
We can clearly see its roots in Third Cinema, and though in the following pages, will
seek to compare 5 Broken Cameras with its overall call to activism of nonviolent protest and
legal venues to traditional Third Cinemas call to violence and revolution and display the
evolution to a far more balanced and even arguably a more effective tool of socio-political
change.
With Guy taking the role of storyteller (Lorber), Davidis editing talents give us the
overtures of nonviolent protest, and working within legal avenues to bring resolution, that is the
return of the ancestral homelands of the Palestinians. The positivity of the theme does not go
unnoticed; keeping the story within Emads narrative surround his son growing up amid the
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Israeli/Palestinian conflict gives the film a personal feel, empathizing with the Burnat family.
Finally, the violence is displayed quite symbolically, in abhorrence rather than a promotion of
violence.
Third cinemas origins come from a need to fight against the injustices of Latin American
dictatorships. Authors Gentino and Solanos deliver a manifesto describing in great detail the
oppression of the bourgeoisies of Neocolonialism, and Imperialism in Latin America, urging a
far left revolt against the establishment. They see film as a perfect medium as a call to arms, thus
they coin the term Third Cinema as the style of film to bring about revolution. First Cinema, as
they describe it, is the classic Hollywood establishment of film for pure entertainment, or as
Solanas and Getino's manifesto is quoted to say, the so-called 'author's cinema,' 'expression
cinema,' 'nouvelle vague,' 'cinema novo,' (Solanas and Getino 4). Second Cinema refers to
European filmmaking, such as French New Wave, Brechtian techniques, and especially the work
of Jean-Luc Godard. They argue however, that Second Cinema does not go far enough to exploit
film as a platform for revolutionary change, or as they quote Godard, With the filmmakers
themselves 'trapped inside the fortress (1). They believe Second Cinema does too much to
obscure their political messages, and thus they introduce Third Cinema, using film as an overt
political platform for their radical far left agenda of revolt against the bourgeoisies establishment.
This style was the basis of Grupo Cine Liberacin ("The Liberation Film Group") of
Argentina, with its protest of the regime of Juan Peron. Filmaker Fernando Ezequiel Solanas has
declared in his three part, four hour and 2o minute documentary La Hora de Los Hornos that
violent revolution was the only way to liberate Argentina from the dictatorship of Juan Peron. In
a pivotal scene, director Solanas juxtaposed images of American commericalism and scenes
from a slaughterhouse with snatches of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band playing over top.
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The scene climaxes with a rapid staccato montage of starving children, bleeding cows and Coca-
Cola signs matched with the sound of machine gun fire (NewYorkTimes.com). This is clearly
an attack on American support of Dictator Juan Peron, and the director even goes so far as
gunning down the American influence.
In Ya es tiempo de violencia, anonymous filmmaker Enrique Jurez uncovers the
censorship of the Juan Carlos Organia dictated Argentine government on the sanctioned killing
of Augusto Timoteo Vandor, chief of the UOM - Metal Workers Union (Bianco). Clearly the
title alone, in English Now is the Time for Violence, is a literal call to violence against the
corruption of the state. Furthermore, the voice of god narration appealing to the audience in
constant use of the second person, Spectator and author abandon their traditional roles to be
knotted in a new configuration marked by violent political action (violence was meant as a
response to an earlier violence imposed by power) (Mafud). Violence in the wake of violence,
as asserted by Juarez, is the answer.
5 Broken Cameras is a film is related to Third Cinema in its activism to change the
occupation of their ancestral farmlands by Israel. But, rather than making a call for violence, the
filmmakers seek for nonviolent alternatives as well as cooperation between Palestine and Israel.
Emad Burnat, whose raw footage was utilized in the film, is native Palestinian and Guy Davidi,
whose editing made the film, a native Israeli, come together in the spirit of cooperation to
campaign for their cause. In their statement, the filmmakers discuss their spirit of cooperation.
When we started this project, we knew we would be criticized for working
together. Emad would be asked why he chose to make the film with an Israeli,
and Guy would be asked why he chose to make the film with a Palestinian. Still,
the actual differences between us were something we could not avoid: we have
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different cultural backgrounds and different privileges, and we had to learn to use
them in a constructive way. There are also different expectations for us as a result
of our identities (Lorber).
In this gesture, they show that cooperation is possible, and can bring a very beneficial
relationship to both Palestine and Israel.
The positivity that is thematic throughout the film can be easily obscured by the sadness
of the situation. Davidi makes an excellent use of personal family footage amid the protest
footage to remind us that it is still the documenting of Emads son, Gileeb growing up.
Following the first scene of Emad with his five broken cameras, we are introduced to Gileeb as a
baby. As Emad narrates the lives of his children, contrasting their more carefree lives to Gileeb,
who is growing up in the middle of the conflict. We are shown footage of his children at school,
which is thematic of the positivity that the conflict will end and the promotion of peace and
education. Between the violence and protest we are introduced to members of the Burnat family,
A narration of his new role in the village of filmographer together with the explanation of the
inferiority of his first camera to film the ever important protests. Early filming of village festivals
show lighthearted Phil doing street stunts. We are cut a display of Emads father tilling the
ground and racking rocks to tend to his vegetable garden. In another scene, Emads wife is
pleading for her husband not to go to the protests, for a simple reason as its a festival day. Even
something as simple as the family relaxing around the television, as Emad is recovering from the
car accident at the barrier and narrates the cost of his treatments. They are displays of the
positivity and hope the family lives under the shadow of the conflict.
Davidis editing of the protest scenes are in such a way to reflect a negative light onto the
violence instead of the promotion of violence as traditional Third Cinema espouses. Of the
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protests themselves, the first scene we see is a low angle shot of the front line of the protestors,
while their chanting, We are not afraid of your guns or your dogs and your grenades (5 Broken
Cameras). The shot is then a long shot to display the full size of the protest, at least 50 people
carrying the banners and flags of Palestine and several banners of protest. Emad narrates that
they are going beyond the security barrier to pick olives on their farmland separated by Israel in
the construction of the barrier. Davidi here gives us an introduction of Emads friend and
informal leader of the Billin protest group, Ashraf Abu-Rahma (Daba). Emad narrates Dabas
flair for the dramatic, as he emphatically vocalizes his objection to the Israeli militarys presence
on the Billin farm land. In this we are first shown the Billin protest group is nonviolent in its
protest of the barrier. In another protest scene, we are this time introduced to the violence of the
Israeli military. They are armed with assault weapons and tear gas grenade launchers. Emads
narration tells us undercover Israeli agents are dressed as Palestinians in the protest group to
instigating fights with protestors and the military, initiating their violence. This is an important
detail we are given as we see a bloodied Palestinian, which is the first graphic violence of the
film. This first violence lets us remember the detail that it is the Israelis themselves who are the
aggressors in this particular issue, not Palestinians. This is further reinforced with the scene when
Adeeb is shot in the leg. He is being detained by a squad of IDF when one unprompted aims at
Adeebs leg and fires. Finally and most tragically, Phil is hit in the chest by an intentionally
launched smoke grenade. Even in this instance, the violence is downplayed as even with three
cameras filming the event, we are not shown the fateful shot (theGuardian.com). We are instead
shown the aftermath, and even in still in a diminished capacity. The images of Phil lying on the
ground only amount to approximately 10 seconds.
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Finally, we are shown the ways the people of Billin use legal means to promote their
ideas, rather than violence. Following the initial protest scene, another scene shows the protest
group gathered around a map planning their protest. This scene establishes their pursuit of an
avenue of legal protest, and establishes weekly protests for the duration. In one scene, Emad
explains the ways Israelis try to work around the laws, being the placing of trailers on the land to
take more territory. The Billin protest group attempts to block the Israelis from placing trailers
on their land, by nonviolent means, even though they are met with violence. This gives them the
idea to erect their own structures on the land, using the same legal trickery to occupy their own
land. This contributes to their overall legal victory in the pursuit of ancestral lands. Another
essential scene is the announcement of their legal representative. This display shows us that their
legal protests have brought the attention of the UN Court to the issue, and they have ruled in
their favor. In one of the final scene Daba is voicing his hopelessness at the site of their concrete
outpost beyond the barrier. As he is speaking about the burning of their trees and the deaths of
their loved ones, believing their path of nonviolence was all for nothing. He is assured by his
friend that because they moved the barrier no matter how little is still a victory, and their
nonviolent protests and legal pressure was worth something and is still the best path to take.
Their path of nonviolence has indeed been fruitful, and in this global climate of
diplomatic resolutions to conflict, has brought more positive attention to the problem than any
act of guerrilla warfare as espoused traditionally by Third Cinema. 5 Broken Cameras has
succeeded in putting a human face to the violence, and with the medium of activist film brought
global attention to the issue. New Third Cinema or not, its roots in traditional Third Cinema is
hard to ignore. Over sixty years has passed since the calls to arms driven cinema of Solanas and
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Getino's manifesto, and while effective at the time, films like 5 Broken Cameras may just show
the world responds better to peaceful resolution rather than violence.

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Works Cited
5 Broken Cameras. Dir. Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi. Perf. Emad Burnat, Soraya Burnat,
Mohammed Burnat. Allegria Productions. 2011. Film
Canby, Vincent. "La Hora De Los Hornos (1968)." NYTimes.com.
New York Times. Web.
Bianco, Ana. "La Militancia En Imgenes." Pgina/12 :: Espectaculos. 25 Aug. 2007. Web. 18
May 2014.
Lorber, Kino. "5 Broken Cameras." 5 Broken Cameras- Official USA Website.
Web. 18 May 2014.
Mafud, Lucio. " Un llamado a transformar la realidad." Pgina/12 :: Espectaculos. 25 Aug.
2007. Web.
McCarthy, Rory. "Teargas Canister Shot Kills Palestinian Demonstrator." Theguardian.com.
Guardian News and Media, 17 Apr. 2009. Web. 19 May 2014.
Ranzani, Oscar. "Pgina/12 :: Cultura :: La Revolucin Es Un Sueo Eterno." Pgina/12 ::
Cultura :: La Revolucin Es Un Sueo Eterno. Web. 18 May 2014.
Solanas, Fernando, and Octavio Getino. "Towards a Third Cinema." Memories of
Underdevelopment: The Revolutionary Films of Cuba. Web.