What if the secret of a successful photo was managing to capture what we didn’t see? This is the lesson from the old master for his young student who assists him and follows him everywhere, but also for us, the viewers. Here in the Holy Land, probably one of the most media-covered regions in the entire world, Josef Koudelka observes, says little and waits. He tirelessly searches for his frame, and when he finds it, a childlike smile lights up his furrowed face. He was also a kid who grew up behind a wall, who had to flee his country and who manages to capture all the absurdity of the construction of this “safety barrier” between Israel and Palestine. Over the months, returning again and again to the same landscapes, Gilad Baram gives us the time to understand how a photo, a vision, is constructed and this is the strength of this simple, spot-on film. It’s rare that a documentary has been able to get this close to a photographer at work – and what a photographer!

Éva Tourrent
Filmmaker and Tënk’s Artistic Director, France