U.S. authorities at Los Angeles International Airport briefly detained Emad Burnat, the first Palestinian filmmaker nominated for an Oscar, after questioning the validity of his Academy Awards invitation, his publicist told reporters on Wednesday. According to CNN, Burnat, his wife and 8-year-old son were held and questioned at the airport on Tuesday night.
Burnat, who is nominated for his "5 Broken Cameras" home video in his village of Bil'in contacted fellow documentary filmmaker Michael Moore for help, Moore said on his Twitter account.
"Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn't understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help," he said. Moore added, "After 1.5 hrs, they decided to release him & his family & told him he could stay in LA for the week & go to the Oscars. Welcome to America."
The Palestinian's publicist, Julia Pacetti, told CNN that Burnat had emailed her about how "immigration authorities were telling him he needed a reason for his visit." Pacetti added, "He asked me to send his invitation to the Oscars. But before I did, immigration authorities released him. it was a short-lived situation."
Burnat released a statement about the situation saying, "Although this was an unpleasant experience, this is a daily occurrence for Palestinians, every single day, throughout the West Bank." According to Al Jazeera, Burnat had spent nearly six hours earlier in the day at an Israeli checkpoint as he attempted to drive to Amman, Jordan to catch his flight to the U.S.
Al Jazeera reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not comment on the case but released a statement saying it "strives to treat all travelers with respect and in a professional manner, while maintaining the focus of our mission to protect all citizens and visitors in the United States."
Burnat's Oscar-nominated film "5 Broken Cameras" follows his daily activities with his family in his occupied West Bank village of Bil'in as a protest to the Israeli occupation and shootings. According to Al Jazeera, the title refers to the number of cameras smashed since he began filming.