Witness Text

 

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WITNESS, SURFER, DREAMER AND THE TALIBAN FROM AFGHANISTAN

The mystery of a burnt-out car, abandoned off Long Street in the heart of Cape Town's CBD, sparked the imagination and commentary of passers by. In this short film, we encounter, as we do in everyday life: members of secret societies, ex-cons, betrayed girlfriends and recreational forensics experts.

Through the tapestry of their narratives and theories, a social portrait of colloquial rationale evolves, at times both comical and surprising in content. Yudelman returned to the car periodically, always expecting to find it gone - but thanks to the inefficiency of local authorities, was able to continue filming over a period of three weeks.

On each visit he met up with characters willing to mediate the spaces between fact and fiction - thereby offering the structure for this film, with anecdotes ranging from plausible to the downright absurd.

In this piece, Yudelman examines the ambivalent nature of personal truth and shared reality, by scrutinizing the paradoxes and ironies of daily life.

Duration: 10min 55sec