Feeling Emotional

Submission by Anna Lan Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski

Feeling Emotional is a short film created by the Penthouss extended crew of artists and dancers. The film was shot near Jerusalem and retells the Plato’s Cave with contemporary stylistic direction and rethinking of the main theme. The slow movement of the camera floating above the earth before the beginning of time reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Two angles of view, the omniscient perspective and the eye following the main character and through her perspective showing the dancers merge into one story. Trapped in a cave of personal perception and knowledge, the characters (the tribe) perform the dance of life. Light fills the cave letting in new possibilities and interpretations of reality.

Cast Talya Halperin Shay Kukui Jonathan Trichter Walburga Muller Noa Trichter Noam Chertok Keshet Wachtel Shir Sternberg Michael Sabo Daniel Shichor

Video Created by Penthouss Creators Anna Lann and Jonathan Trichter Chief Editor Anna Sharon Sub-editors Jonathan Trichter Anna Lann DOP Karm&Coh Executive Production Karm&Coh Production Assistants Michael Sabo Daniel Shichor Amit Shichor 

Special thanks to the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority

The Story

The video was shot as part of the embodiment project created by penthouss crew. It takes place inside of a historical cave near jerusalem, where it portrays the journey of wolf, a young girl who sets out on a quest for inner change and its outward manifestation - a metamorphosis of human consciousness.

The main theme

‘The wolf represents the philosopher, who seeks knowledge outside of the cave and outside of the senses.’

This video is a part of our project titled Embodiment Chronicles, which is a series of works dealing with the metamorphosis of human consciousness and its outward manifestation. Going by the title Feeling Emotional, this particular part refers to Plato's Allegory of the Cave, representing people who believe that knowledge comes from what we see and hear in the world – empirical evidence. The cave shows that believers of empirical knowledge are trapped in a ‘cave’ of misunderstanding, while our main character The Wolf represents the philosopher, who seeks knowledge outside of the cave and outside of the senses.

The shooting day 

We are used to working with big groups of people, as we find it interesting to observe and study group dynamics. We find it binding and useful in understanding decision-making behavior, tracking the spread of conscious and unconscious physics of movement, creating effective production techniques, and following the emergence of new ideas and profound communication.

Technical side of the set

Well, of all things, we'd say that getting the permission to shoot in this particular cave, which is a natural reserve, was by no means an easy task. String-pulling was involved, with a sprinkle of shortcuts and white-lies on top.

Music Choices 

The music was created by Anna Lann as a part of the Embodiment Chronicles project and was released as an EP under the title Embodiment with the UK based label Ransom Note.

Artists in the project

‘The crew is penthouss' extended family, and they can be found in all our works playing different roles and characters.’

As a group of artists who work together on an ongoing basis, our casting decisions are usually based on the availability of the dancers and performers we work with. The crew is Penthouss' extended family, and they can be found in all our works playing different roles and characters.