Short of the Week

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Experimental Lior Ben Horin

Head On

A runaway train barrels through an every-changing abstract landscape in this experimental animation from the Bezalel Academy.

Play
Experimental Lior Ben Horin

Head On

A runaway train barrels through an every-changing abstract landscape in this experimental animation from the Bezalel Academy.

Head On

Directed By Lior Ben Horin
Produced By Bezalel Academy of Art & Design
Made In Israel

Many stories take us on a journey. In Lior Ben Horin’s Head On that journey is made quite literally as we fly alongside a runaway train as it picks up pace through changing landscapes. Ultimately, it’s a fun feast for the eyes, but there’s a message in there as well. The surrounding scenes move from the simple natural landscapes to complex urban cityscapes representing the inevitability of progress. We’re simply along for the ride—helplessly swept along to admire its beautiful destruction.

The movement and sound is almost hypnotic. You can always tell when a filmmaker is comfortable with music. The editing feels much punchier and the pacing has well-timed sections of quiet and action—not unlike the verse and chorus construction of music (check out work from Max Hattler and Tony Comely. Lior himself is a musician. The driving techno score (by Nadav Ravid) and neon-powered visuals definitely draw inspiration from Gaspar Noe’s Enter the Void—other moments reference Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odessey.

Head On is Lior’s graduation film from the Bezalel Academy for Art & Design (Howl is another recent film from the program). We look forward to more work from these talented students.