This audio-visual suite includes musical and physical responses to two
well-well known Separdic Jewish songs Por La Tu Puerta Yo Pasí
(Gülpembe) - I Passed by Your Door ( Little Rose) and La Sirena - The
Mermaid . The work is made by the artistic director of the music
ensemble SARAY Iluminado, musician Dr Nela Trifkovic and dancer
Israel Aloni and is a part of a larger audio-visual album Rituals of
Belonging that is still in making.
In these works, Trifkovic and Nela explore the (im)possibility of collective
rituals being realised in isolation or exile, making a poetic commentary
on the refugee and immigrant experiences, and the broader experience
of perpetual otherness.
We witness Aloni, a lonesome emotionally charged figure, attempting to
perform each of the 4 brothers at a solemn Seder, where we see them
frantically circling the table trying to bring to life a ritual that would
ordinarily be shared with family or in a community. Trifkovic’s musical
arrangements of songs, straddle borders of folk and art music, and
gather a chamber multi-instrumental ensemble around her haunting and
vocative voice.

Directors
Nela Trifkovic
Israel Aloni

Music Arrangement
Nela Trifkovic and Saray Iluminado

Dancer
Israel Aloni

Saray Iluminado
Nela Trifkovic, vocals
Kelly Dowall, ney flute
Irine Vela, laouto
Ernie Gruner, violin
Dan Witton, double bass, vocals

Produced by
Saray Iluminado
Underground Media

Cinematographer / Editor
Sebastian Bertoli

Colourist
Chris Bennett

Sound recording
Myles Mumford, Rolling Stock Recording Rooms

Special Thanks
Alexander Naughton (a-n studio)
James Adler and Eagle's Nest Theatre
Luka Lazovic
Multicultural Arts Victoria
Gandel Foundation
Hagada Sarajevo / Association Haggadah

Saray Iluminado