Directed by Michelle Kranot & Uri Kranot • Animation • 2013 • 14 minutes

Searchlights sweep the silent towers. Deep inside one of the buildings, a hand extends through a pipe and appears in a neighbouring apartment, where Solomon is struggling to fix the plumbing. He stares at the hand, then reaches out to clasp it. It is a rare moment of humanity in a cold, dehumanized environment. Hollow Land is a story about the eternal human search for a place to call home, a film that begins, as all such searches must, with the dream of utopia. Solomon and Berta are two seekers who arrive-their treasured bathtub improbably in tow-in a seemingly sun-washed land that promises respite from their many journeys. Whether it's reusing a tea bag or fiddling with pipes until they finally work, Solomon tries to make the best of whatever comes his way. Berta is not so optimistic, nor willing to give up on her dreams. Filmmakers Uri and Michelle Kranot depict the couple through two-dimensional clay puppets that move within a rich environment created largely from cut-outs. Just as the characters in Hollow Land bear the marks of their travels, so too do the puppets bear the physical imprints of their creators-a refreshing, immediate symbol of the power of human creativity and resilience. From the hopeful first moments of Berta and Solomon's arrival, to the final haunting scene at sea, Hollow Land is an evocative animated film that captures the unsettled state of those who find themselves displaced-whether by circumstance or by choice.