Masha

A woman in her mid-twenties and a fourteen year old boy are sitting one in front of the other in the woman's bedroom. The woman is a director. She is the director. She probably auditions dozens of boys just like him every day. He cannot allow himself to question her; he must never refuse her order. 

Making Masha, I wanted to investigate a situation in which pathological dominance relations are developed out of objective conditions, but with one important difference: I wanted both sides to be victims. In a different manner, indeed, but both vulnerable somehow, both hurt. I wanted to see, as well as show, how cruelty can immerge out of true pain, loneliness, despair. I also wanted to deal with an evasive type of ambivalence: the blend of pleasure and fear.
The viewer witnesses the scene through Masha's private camera. He cannot see Masha herself, but hears her voice, her manipulative orders. Considering that the chosen frame stands for Masha's gaze, the image of the boy and his emotional reactions to her demands actually reflect and illustrate her pervert mind. That’s why I see the whole piece as a portrait of Masha. (Dana Goldberg)

Israel 2005, Dana Goldberg, fiction, 10', Beta, b/w, Hebrew/ Engl. subtitles
Director Dana Goldberg | Production Keren Zinger | Camera Asi Oren | Sound Yehuda Naim | Editing Hadara Oren| Cast Yael Peiser, Yali Saar Tal-Shir

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Subjects: Casting, Youth, Power-relation, Violence, Depenendcy, Childhood, Film-making