13

A small twinkling dot slowly glides across the black screen. It is followed by another, and then a third. We seem at first to be watching an abstract piece of video art, but there is more to the Japanese film 13 than meets the eye. Filmmaker Shinya Isobe left his camera in exactly the same spot for five years to shoot a picture of the sunset every thirteen seconds. In a series of merged time-lapses, we see the sun moving serenely from left to right. Over and over again. First in a neat line, in total silence. Later patterns appear, supported by a minimalist soundtrack. No digital trickery was used to create the hypnotic images that pass by. Isobe overlaid analogue shots from different seasons to produce clusters of shining spots. See it as an amalgamation of time, a contemplation of humanity versus the cosmos—it’s up to you to create your own associations. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)