Firestarter
Vered Koren
Idea and realisation:
Vered Koren
Cinematography:
Bruno Manguen
Production:
Academy of Media Arts Cologne / Vered Koren
2017, 14:36 min.
Firestarter is presented in the form of a triptych, displaying three separate locations: a “shrine” in a basement, a burned forest, and a desert. In each one appears the protagonist, wearing a costume, performing a ritual of some sort. The burned forest is located in Haifa, Israel. This forest is one of the hundreds that were burned in a fire in November 2016. The extremely dry and windy weather caused a wave of fires, damaging dozens of houses and natural areas. During these events, journalists and government ministers claimed that almost half of the fires were caused by arson and referred to them as a massive terror attack. As of now, there is no evidence of arson, which has caused skepticism and fuelled public suspicion of “fake news.” The invented “shrine” is a room loaded with handmade and found objects that carry tribal, Middle Eastern, and Jewish imagery—a mishmash of symbols and perceptions of traditional societies. The images are related to the universal fear of the unknown and protection from evil. The rituals performed by the protagonist engage with a futile attempt at lighting something that has already burned.
