“Studying and living in Madrid was a dream of mine, that turned into a goal I set for myself,” answers Yarden when asked about the experience that serves as the starting point for Genius Loci. After having wanted for years to move to this city to study and live and having to postpone her departure from Tel Aviv as a result of the pandemic, the creative made it to Madrid, “A year later I finally arrived at this longed-for and exciting moment.”

Then reality hit her. Moving to an unknown place entails an adaptation process that is not always easy, and it’s precisely what she now shares with all of us in her fashion film. “It took me nerve-wracking months to find an apartment, during which I found myself lonely and without solid ground. And so, the difficulties overcame the thrill of fulfilling my dream.” But, little by little and overcoming all the obstacles that she found in her way, the artist began to feel at home.

Genius Loci, which is a Latin term originally meaning “the guardian spirit of a place,” immerses us in the experience that she lived through three chapters, “each one with its own ambience which I created by using different styling, compositions, lighting, and sound,” adds Karlinsky. “At the beginning of the film, the main character arrives at an empty dark soulless apartment. Slowly she explores and experiences the space and then the objects and the people in it. And so, the once neutral, alienated space starts to be layered with characters, colours, and sounds that create the ‘unique spirit’ of the place.” A wonderful work that shows the promising talent of the young artist.