Claiming Space
Duration: 47 minutes
The short film Flags by artist Amit Berlowitz encapsulates the spirit and themes explored in the other works featured in this program. In her film, we watch a group of children playing “Capture the Flag,” in which the goal is to seize the opposing team’s flag while taking prisoners. The investigative, wide-eyed perspective of this work is also evident in how other participating artists approach the charged subjects they address: strategies of claiming space, different types of proximity, the relationship between geographic closeness and cultural distance, and the history of these dynamics in the local context.
Location
Artport, Tel AvivDate
Friday, 20.6.25Time
14:00
Smaller Place
Michal BarOr
The untold history of the Kabarah wetlands—a vital water source relied upon by the residents of Jisr az-Zarqa for centuries—is depicted in this film from three perspectives. Two are visual: one, an aerial view, reveals the breathtaking beauty of this hidden natural corner; the second leads viewers through the dense and rich vegetation of the area, navigating it like a maze with no escape. The third perspective is verbal: a conversation between the artist and Mohamed Amash, a historian and villager, who shares the history of the place before and after the marshes were drained.
The Cavalry
Alina Orlov
In her focus on the Israeli Police Cavalry Unit, Alina Orlov reveals how the treatment of horses reflects political patterns and how they are required to give way to the power exerted upon them. Combining reworked archival footage with contemporary documentation, the film interweaves moments of sensitivity and instances of violence to offer a nuanced reading of the structures that shape a fractured, fraught space.
Flags
Amit Berlowitz
Against the soft colors of the seashore, anonymous children engage in a competitive game between two teams. As the game progresses, players are “captured” within finger-drawn circles traced in the sand—a simple gesture that echoes themes of control. Juxtaposed with the innocence and beauty captured on 16mm film is a critical gaze at power dynamics, identity, and belonging within society. Yet unlike the complexity of real life, the capture of the flag at the game’s end leads to a pause or resolution accepted by all participants, allowing them to continue as one unified group.
Fire from AFar
Nir Evron
Nir Evron’s new film traces the blood-soaked history of Gaza and its surroundings, interweaving it with medical, military, and photographic histories, as well as the local natural environment. Since 2015, he has been documenting the flocks of kites, birds of prey that inhabit the border zone between Israel and the Gaza Strip. This ongoing documentation—rich with symbolic meaning—is woven into a broader narrative of violence and healing, destruction and care.
The work was produced with support of Mifal HaPais Council for the Culture and Arts