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Image: Khaled Khatib
The Syrian cinematographer who filmed Oscar-nominated documentary The White Helmets missed the Academy Awards ceremony after being denied entry to the US.
Khaled Khatib, whose 40-minute Netflix film won Best Documentary Short at Monday’s ceremony in Los Angeles, had intended to go to the Oscars and obtained a visa, but was not allowed to board his flight from Istanbul.
“After 3 days at airport, not allowed to travel to #oscars2017 – had US visa – but passport not accepted. Sad, but important work to do here,” he tweeted.
The 21-year-old was denied entry despite a US Supreme Court overturning Donald Trump’s controversial ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Syria, entering the US.
The White Helmets, which is reportedly being adapted into a feature film by George Clooney, reveals the work of a group of Syrian civilian first responders, who have rescued more than 60,000 people from bomb sites in the war-torn country.
Khaled put his life in danger to make the documentary, trailing the rescuers as they pulled people who had often suffered horrific injuries from the Aleppo rubble.
The US Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on Khaled’s case when contacted by Variety.
The White Helmets is available to watch on Netflix.
