Do Palestinians Exist?
Hollywood Denies the Existence of Palestine
Issue: The producers of Elia Suleiman’s film
“Divine Intervention” have decided to delay
submission of the film to the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
as the Palestinian entry for the Best
Foreign-Language Film Oscar due to
questions concerning the AMPAS’s eligibility criteria, specifically
whether or not to recognize Palestine as a country.
Originally, the film was to be
released in Palestine in 2002 and
submitted to the Academy for
consideration for the 2002 Oscars.
However, after the Executive Director
of the Academy told producer
Humbert Balsan, in a telephone
conversation, that Palestine was not
recognized as a state under
Academy rules, the producers
decided to delay its release in
Palestine in order to make it eligible
for submission in 2003, thus gaining
a year to lobby for the movie to be
accepted as the Palestinian entry.
According to Academy Awards Coordinator Patrick Stockstill, the
official Academy policy is to “go by the List of Member Nations of
the United Nations to confirm countries.” However, the Academy
has not held firmly to this policy in the past, as they have
accepted submissions from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Puerto
Rico, none of which are independent nations. In fact, Taiwan’s
submission “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” went on to win the
2001 Best Foreign Film Oscar.
Palestine has maintained observer status at the United Nations
since 1974, and is recognized as a nation by over 115 countries
around the world. Based on the Academy’s past policies, it
stands to reason that a highly acclaimed film like “Divine
Intervention” would be allowed to compete for the Best Foreign
Film Oscar. After all, the film recently won Best Foreign Film
(Non-European) at the European Film Awards in Rome, was
awarded the Grand Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the
Cannes Film Festival, and won the Silver Hugo at the Chicago
Film Festival.
Furthermore, it was an official selection at many North American
film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival
(2002), the New York International Film Festival (2002), the AFI
Film Festival (2002), the Denver International Film Festival (2002),
the Santa Fe Film Festival (2002), the Nortel Palm Springs
International Film Festival (2003), and the Cleveland International
Film Festival (2003), to name a few. In addition, the film’s
director, Elia Suleiman, has won several awards, including one at
the Venice International Film Festival.
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