Sigalit Landau

In 2020, with the outbreak of the pandemic, it was immediately evident that the elderly were most vulnerable to COVID-19. Seniors were suddenly facing a new kind of life threat. They were the first to be isolated in their apartments and forbidden to socialize and meet their families. Instinctively and with urgency, I decided to take the ‘adoptive’ initiative. With collaboration in mind, I decided to rush embroidery kits of snow-covered landscape scenes to socially distance volunteers. Twelve women with some experience responded to my call. They knew that their scenic embroideries, once complete, would be partially or submerged in the transformative salt waters of the Dead Sea. It is thanks to meticulous colorful stitching that the crystallization became possible and optimal. The Snow depicted in the tapestries interwoven with the salt crystals of the endangered sea, the area voicing the displacement and pain I sensed as a child in my community and it is these sentiments I wished to convey. As the months passed, I wanted to get to know this group of 12 women better. With the help of an ‘in-house’ cameraman-volunteer from the same home, I arranged to interview the women. Their stories mirrored the diversity of their backgrounds, aspirations, and memories. This film brings forward three of their stories