Insight
Dafna Talmor’s Constructed Landscapes explores fragmented and altered representations of natural spaces, reflecting themes of displacement and memory.
Her process—cutting, layering and reassembling negatives—transforms familiar landscapes into abstract, hybrid environments. The film needed to capture the tactile, detailed nature of this process in a way that mirrors the texture and depth of her work.
Idea
Create a visually rich, atmospheric short film that intimately follows Talmor’s artistic process.
By focusing on the physicality of her methods—cutting negatives, assembling fragments and enlarging images—the film visually parallels the layered complexity of her constructed landscapes.
Execution
The documentary uses detailed, textural cinematography combined with reflective audio from Talmor’s interview.
Close-up shots of negatives being cut and assembled are paired with ambient studio sounds, like the hum of equipment and the slice of a scalpel, to immerse the viewer in her process. Intelligent lighting creates isolated pockets of focus within the studio, while experimental camera angles (such as looking through a viewfinder or above a lightbox) offer an intimate view of her meticulous work.