katalog-overlapping voices - Ritesinstitute

TerrarIum
Israel is a fossilized resonance chamber enclosed by a wall, inside which I
live.
The film describes the life cycle inside this enclosure which is composed of
monumental national events, religious holidays, and holy sites.
Life in a hermetically sealed space is distorted and its meaning is altered in
the face of surreal existence. Private and public entities are fused, the innocence
of childhood is mobilized by politics, stones are worshipped, the
worlds above and below the wall are likened to devastating class
differences.
Toy soldiers are marching in straight columns along the rails of the model
parade ground in Mini-Israel. Children swarm around the old Merkava tank
in the Armored Corps Memorial at Latroun. They climb up on the turret, take
photographs, and dream of uniforms and great battles.
Life and death come together to form a day of ceremonies, yearning and
prayers for better things. Bereavement and joy are one and the same and
cannot be separated.
An attempt at lighting Hanukkah candles in the city square in Jerusalem
turns into a huge security event mobilizing numerous security forces. Two
rabbis are elevated by a fire truck in order to light the longed-for candle.
An elderly man brandishing an old megaphone rants and raves for justice
before the Jerusalem town hall. The man is small and the square is mighty
and not a soul listens.
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