“Christmas Alms” is an experimental short film in which Khavn holds his camera in a group of children. He accompanies them for a day and a night on the street. They stand there in simple clothes, hands outstretched or make noise with a plastic bottle to draw attention to themselves.
They ask for alms, Christmas alms. Again and again they call for it. But their voices do not feel as if they are begging. The boys are cheerful, confident and unbroken. They amuse themselves in front of the camera, they play with it. Apparently they like it to be the centre of attention. For a moment they seem to forget their certainly poor circumstances. Cheekily, they put themselves in scene.
The cheerful screaming of the boys gives the film its rhythm. The short appears wild and full of energy like its protagonists. Fast cuts and short takes dominate the picture. The children incorporate the camera, it gets like one of them. It is not a disturbing factor, they have no fear of it. The viewer feels part of the group for a short time. He almost gets a little dizzy from the temperament of the children. This effect is supported by the pictures, which are slightly out of focus and only sparsely lit, since most of them were taken at dusk.
Khavn uses simple and reduced means for “Christmas Alms. All he needs is a camera to give the viewer an insight into this microcosm. The special feature of the film is that Khavn meets his characters at eye level. This makes the impression of the film all the stronger.
