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Director’s Notes: Holocaust Memorial Day, Tel Aviv

By Ricky Rapoport Friesem

Pan across the bustling plaza
bursting with the energy
of busy people on the go.
Zoom out to a long shot
as the siren's piercing howl
brings them to an abrupt halt.
Hold on the shot of the plaza,
still now, and silent.

Zoom in on a pair of sandals
glistening with wet sand.
Cut to a series of tight close ups
of dusty shoes, trendy shoes,
soldiers' boots, high heels,
low heels, new shoes, old shoes,
bridled feet twitching with life.

Tilt up to motionless legs and torsos,
faces settling into solemnity.
Pan the plaza until the siren's
howl is sucked into the void again
and the crowd lets out a collective sigh,
like swimmers coming up for air.

Zoom out to a long shot of the crowd, stirring.
Zoom in to their shoes, in motion once again, then
cut to tight close ups of fancy buckles, worn heels,
burnished leather, delicate straps and tangled laces.

Zoom out to reveal they belong
to the tumbled mass of shoes on display
behind glass in the Auschwitz museum where
they rest now, undisturbed and unclaimed.
Slowly fade to black.