ROAD MOVIE examines contemporary life in Palestine, where residents of the West Bank are confronted with a segregated and impossible road system made all the more problematic and unpredictable by shifting political currents. The subjects of the films - from Palestinian ambulance and taxi drivers to Israeli settlers and human-rights activists (who were all filmed while Flanders and Sawatzky travelled the segregated roads) - offer a unique and unconventional glimpse into the human landscape of this volatile land. With a screen set-up suggesting the foreboding wall surrounding Palestine, Road Movie is full of arresting and vibrant images, from the deserts of the Jordan Valley to the circumference of Jerusalem." (Steve Gravestock, TIFF)
Elle Flanders and Tamira Sawatzky's new installation is comprised of a series of individual journeys, and shot using stop-motion animation that captures the landscape frame by frame. It is a six-channel installation, projected on three large double-sided walls. ROAD MOVIE is the result of years-long travels with passage through segregated West Bank roads, during which the artists met a cross-section of people living in the region. An episodic odyssey through haunting landscapes,ROAD MOVIE also features an evocative soundscape created by acclaimed audio artist Anna Friz.
Elle Flanders, raised in Montreal and Jerusalem, lives in Toronto. Her work has been exhibited at museums and festivals internationally, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Berlinale.
Tamira Sawatzky is an award-winning architect and artist working in Toronto. Together they founded Public Studio, with recent works including: KINO PRAVDA 3G, a multi-channel video installation, and WHAT ISN'T THERE, a photo installation.
6-channel HD video installation
Producer: Anita Lee
Executive producer: Silva Basmajian
Sound installation artist: Anna Friz
Editors: Jared Raab, Graydon Sheppard
Technical director: Priam Givord
Produced by the NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA
Tamira Sawatzky, Elle Flanders
Road Movie
Canada 2011
