46 min. Hebrew.
The Disappeared follows the story of an action-feature film produced by the Israeli Army in 2000 and then censored just a few weeks before its release. Titled Hane’elam (The Disappeared) in Hebrew, the original film was intended to address a contentious subject in Israeli society and one of the military’s absolute taboos – the rising number of soldier suicides. The ambitious production was of a scope rarely seen in the local film industry at the time and included hundreds of soldier-extras, an entire armored brigade, military helicopters, and special operations personnel. With a lavish budget and a cast of leading Israeli actors, shooting commenced in multiple locations around the country, among them also a top-secret missile base. Soon after editing began and preparations for its commercial, nation-wide distribution were underway, The Disappeared disappeared.
Today the film in and of itself is only available via the recollections of the individuals who took part in its creation, revealing the elusive history of a forbidden image. The Disappeared conjures up the story of a film that was denied the right of appearance and left to languish in the limbo of censorship.
Adam Kaplan, born in 1987 in Jerusalem, Israel, is an artist based in Berlin. In his practice he explores the boundaries between memory, nostalgia, and the contemporary moment. He has presented his works and texts at various exhibitions and conferences.
Gilad Baram, born in 1981 in Israel, divides his time between Berlin and Jerusalem. Over the past ten years Baram, a photography studies graduate (BFA), has been creating work focused primarily on lens-based image making in the era of internet and big data. His work has been exhibited in various art institutions worldwide. After his award-winning directorial debut Koudelka Shooting Holy Land (2015) this is his second film.
