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EFFI & AMIR

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Behind an artificial waterfall, three children play as if been shot to death. At the near by lake, a bear climbs out of the water. He climbs to the shore, and removes his bear's head, as if taking off a helmet.
The non-dead deads and the non-bear bear will meet in a non-woods woods…


The video “a miracle within a miracle” was shot at the national park in Ramat Gan , Israel . Like many other parks, the ‘national park' is tended and structured. Its landscapes are just models of ‘elsewhere', a setting, offered to the visitors as a background to a fantasy.

The park is based on “as if” situations, it's a playground, whose success is very much depended on the visitor's cooperation. The forest, the lake, the French garden, are all proposals, designed by the municipality- but the imperfection of the construction reveals their artificialness immediately; the water pipes of the waterfall, the metal structures that holds the plants, the lack of talent of the gardener… thus the illusion falls apart before it was even there…

The Hebrew aphorism “no bears- no woods”, means something that could have never happened. It is drawn from the biblical story about the prophet Elisha, who was insulted by youngsters on his way to Beit-El, shouting “go up you baldhead” at him. He cursed them, and two bears came out of the woods and killed 42 of them. The interpreters, when discussing this story, are concerned with the probability of it; as there are no bears in Israel , one suggests it was a miracle. But as there are either no woods in Israel , the other suggests it was a miracle within a miracle .

written, directed and edited by:
Effi & Amir

participating:
Hadar Sackstein
Adi Sackstein
Hila Sackstein
Naftali Izik (the bear)

camera:
Jan Tichy
Ruti Sela
Effi and Amir

crane camera:
Roi Arama, C.R.S

Recorder:
Hadar Sackstein

translation consulting:
Ayelet Sackstein
Miriam Shlesinger

Shot in the National Park, Ramat Gan, April 2005

thanks:
Avi and Miriam Weiss
Tamar and Uri Gabbay
Yoav Mimran
Shira Brukner
Gilad Ratman
Lior Sheffer
Sharon Kaufman
Yoram Hirsch, CRS
Sergio Edelsztein
The Israeli center for digital art

special thanks:
Sackstein Family
Michal Hagi
The National Park, Ramat Gan