Oscar nominee held at Los Angeles airport

TMZ - Director Michael Moore [claims] his friend -- a Palestinian director whose film is nominated for an Oscar -- was detained at LAX last night because officials didn't believe the man was really in town for the Academy Awards.

Moore tweeted a play-by-play of the incident ... claiming his friend, Emad Burnat -- whose film "5 Broken Cameras" is nominated for Best Documentary Feature," was held for an hour-and-a-half while officials grilled him about his visit.

Moore tweeted, "Emad, his wife & 8-yr old son were placed in a holding area and told they didn't have the proper invitation on them to attend the Oscars."

He continued, "Although he produced the Oscar invite nominees receive, that wasn't good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to Palestine."

"Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn't understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help."

"After 1.5 hrs, they decided to release him & his family & told him he could stay in L.A. for the week & go to the Oscars. Welcome to America."