BaMidbar - Diptych Teudi: Halomo shel Avidan

IN THE DESERT – A DOCUMENTARY DIPTYCH is an astonishing endeavor, to say the least. As this is most probably the first catalogue entry one will get to read on it – if only because A (as in Avidan) precedes O (as in Omar) – a few words about the project proper seem in order here; but mind: Both films are essentially stand-alone works that gain in depth when seen together, whatever the order. IN THE DESERT – A DOCUMENTARY DIPTYCH is set in the Hebron Governorate (Muhafazat al-Halil/Nafat Hevron) of the West Bank (ad-Diffah al-Garbiyyah /haGadah haMa’aravit), since 1979 considered by various international entities as Palestinian territory while still under control of Israel which defines it as an occupied and/or disputed area. Some 2.8 million Palestinians live there, as well as some 600.000 Israelis of Jewish faith, of whom about two-thirds are settlers. As a card at the beginning of both films states: This is an invitation to dive into the daily reality of two families. One film is about a Palestinian Arab family; the other is about an Israeli Jewish family. Living on opposite hills, they never meet, nor do they accept one another. This here is the story of Avidan, a settler’s son, who wants to build a sheep farm not far from his place of birth. (Olaf Möller)