NOTES
Filmed in a former casino, The Crossing consists of a series of slow-moving tableaux, or scenes. Several figures begin a game of roulette, positioned around a table. Absent is the normal bustle or excitement one might find in a casino. Rather the figures hold static poses, as the camera pans across the room, and the roulette wheel symbolically spins. One by one each person places bets. With each passing tableau a figure silently disappears from the game. By the close of the video, there is only one player left.
The video features several Syrian refugees who, at the time of production, had recently arrived in Europe, some traversing the Mediterranean Sea on rafts. According to Shimon Attie, The Crossing reflects the extraordinary risks migrants are forced to take in times of crisis, literally gambling for their lives. While the game is played, abstracted sounds of wind and water can be heard intermittently in the background, a constant reminder of the life-threatening journey of refugees fleeing violence and destruction.
