Five Broken Cameras

2011 1h 30m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

🔥

96%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.9

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 104🍅96%Rotten Tomatoes●78Metacritic★7.9IMDB · 6,831

WarDocumentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Five broken cameras – and each one has a powerful tale to tell. Embedded in the bullet-ridden remains of digital technology is the story of Emad Burnat, a farmer from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, which famously chose nonviolent resistance when the Israeli army encroached upon its land to make room for Jewish colonists. Emad buys his first camera in 2005 to document the birth of his fourth son, Gibreel. Over the course of the film, he becomes the peaceful archivist of an escalating struggle as olive trees are bulldozed, lives are lost, and a wall is built to segregate burgeoning Israeli settlements.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Emad Burnat
Himself (Narrator)
Soraya Burnat
Herself (Emad's wife)
Gibreel Burnat
Himself (Emad's 4th son)
Mohammed Burnat
Himself (Emad's 1st son)
Yasin Burnat
Himself (Emad's 2nd son)
Taki-Ydin Burnat
Himself (Emad's 3rd son)
Muhammad Burnat
Himself (Emad's Father)
Intisar Burnat
Herself (Emad's mother)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Emad Burnat
Writers: Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi
Languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish
Countries: France, Netherlands, Israel, Palestinian Territory

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: France, Netherlands, Israel, Palestinian Territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Véronique Lagoarde-Ségot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Emad Burnat and Soraya Burnat and Gibreel Burnat carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt2125423 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Emad Burnat directs. Véronique Lagoarde-Ségot cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, Netherlands, Israel, Palestinian Territory. Dialogue in Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 15 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish.
4International production across 4 countries: France, Netherlands, Israel, Palestinian Territory.
5Editor Véronique Lagoarde-Ségot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Emad Burnat and Soraya Burnat and Gibreel Burnat carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt2125423 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 8 themes, including "palestinian-israeli conflict", "palestine", "peace", "separation".
9Released under 40 different titles around the world.