Troost u

‘Troost U’ (‘Be Comforted’) is a soundless high definition video-film, projected on a plasma screen, and turned ninety degrees to a 9-16 frame. The film shows a ritual performance in an uncut sequence, shot in a church in Lozer (Belgium) in May 2007. In the film, a woman is condoled after the loss of a beloved. Ac-tress Dolores Bouckaert plays a mourning woman, under direction of Benny Vandendriessche. More than 40 friends and family members were invited to of-fer their condolences to the performer. Consequently, the film becomes a living mourning register, collecting an endless series of comforting gestures. The audience can watch a condense ritual of hesitations, touches and glances.

The film is presented as a tableau vivant, with various references to painting: the high resolution offers a rich quality and the framing refers to the classical portrait. This form is enhanced by the static of the film: shot as an uncut se-quence in an endless loop, the spectator can enter and leave the film ran-domly.

The film mixes fiction and non-fiction. A fictitious character is comforted, yet the relationship with the extras is real, creating true emotion. On a real location a sacred atmosphere was constructed. This tension coincides with similar characteristics of a real condoling ritual, confronting participants with an un-comfortable combination of emotion and drama.