Avi Mograbi

b. 1956, Tel Aviv, Israel

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Avi Mograbi
Avi Mograbi, Detail 2 & 3, 2004 (still)

About

Avi Mograbi's films present a highly experimental form and echo the style of participatory documentaries. Details 2 & 3, is shot at an Israeli military post, next to the divisional border which marks the limits of the highly contested land. The narration is constructed from the director's perspective, trying to capture with his camera the confine zone and the militaries. The filming attempt and the presence of the camera suddenly lead to a taut verbal and visual confrontation revealing how the soldiers' behaviors become problematic as a result of often stressed situations and tense confrontations. The physical borders are charged by numerous meanings and portrayed as borders of humanity, responsibility, and nationalism, urging conciliation and resolution.

Mograbi appears in his videos as a central presence, fundamental to the spark of the story as well as creating multiple situations affected and altered by his appearance. His role becomes the one of the observer as well of the witness and participant of real facts and actions. Active and catalytic element of his own work, his videos provoke a deep reflection on the idea of individual responsibility focusing on the un-respectful conduct of the Israeli soldiers and the abuse of power on Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.