Trapani, Sicily. The men of the town prepare for the Easter procession. Clothes are remodelled and the immense statues that have to be carried on their shoulders through the narrow streets of the town during the procession have to be repaired. This annual procession has taken place for 400 years, a tradition that is cherished. It’s a great honour to be chosen as one of the bearers, be it a heavy and emotional task. Jörg Burger follows the preparations and the procession itself, that lasts all night. His floating camera follows the events without commentary: not only is there no narrator, but in the film itself barely a word is said. The film focuses on the extreme devotion and worship that grips Trapani for 24 hours, both for Christ as for the bearers who now briefly have to take his place.

 

About the director:
 

Jörg Burger, born in 1961 in Vienna, Austria, is an artist, filmmaker and cinematographer. He studied photography in New York (USA), his photographs have been exhibited in Austria and abroad. J. Burger has created several award-winning documentaries and experimental films, both short and full-length: “Moscouw” (2001), “Seized” (Unter Beschlag, 2007), “Gibellina – Earthquake” (Gibellina – Il terremoto, 2007) and others.