This is how
I want to remember you
Saturday 5th October
LOCATION: Devonport Guildhall
12:00 - 13:15 | 59min plus Q&A
International short films
What does it mean to archive the personal, and how do we embody the memories of others? Grounded in the materiality of the image, these films are tender and tactile explorations of grief and family history, studying our complex relationships to mothers and motherlands, fathers and fatherlands.
Films by:
Jawad Jabado | Kamila Kuc | Lin Li | Hamish Halley | Grau Del Grau | Mahda Purmehdi | Harper Stone
An Akoon
Jawad Jabado | 7min
I want to be as I was before I became. An Akoon” means “To be”. An Akoon is a poetic, experimental, and intuitive film that confronts the weight of existence, a yearning to return to a state before becoming, before the weight of consciousness. A longing to dissolve, to merge with the unspoken. A journey where each frame and sound unravels the act of witnessing life. In the depths of inner turmoil, the film dives into grief, anger, fear, and remorse—rooted in the profound bond between mother and child—revealing the heavy burdens of existence and an aching longing for redemption.
I Was There
Kamila Kuc | 12min
I Was There is a haunting exploration of familial bonds, intergenerational memory, and the enduring impact of shared narratives. Filmmaker Kamila Kuc steps into the emotional stream of inherited family history as the lines between documentary, testimony, and fiction blur. She performs acts of bearing witness not just for herself but also on behalf of her grandmother. Together, they testify to their experiences and the reverberations these stories have over time. I Was There is a palimpsest - a layered tapestry where past and present intertwine in the intimate process of activating memory and vulnerability as forms of resistance. I Was There honours the testimonial object inherited from ancestors and the living connection that binds generations in the shared pursuit of justice and healing.
You cannot remember your mother's voice
Lin Li | 4min
A pair of hands folding origami objects learned in childhood embodies the reflection on a mother's voice that can no longer be heard.
Please Keep
Hamish Halley | 10min
Hamish Halley’s Please Keep intertwines two narratives: the intimate act of cleaning his grandparents’ home after their passing and the monumental transition of Perth Museum’s collection to a new space, reflecting on custodianship, preservation, loss and renewal.
The Next World
Grau Del Grau | 11min
An estranged parent attempts to record their memories, only to discover that the past may not be as reliable as it once seemed.
Noli me tangere
Mahda Purmehdi | 4min
An excavational inquiry through photographs, touch, and looking at times and places far from here and now, animating and conjuring a link between past and present.
Api (April, 1949)
Harper Stone | 11min
Too often, we forget what and who has come before us. Do we exist because of our corporeal forms, or have we long existed in our ancestor’s dreams and prayers? Api (April, 1949) is a one-take recorded translation of a man’s proposal letter and firm vision of life through love. Penned after my paternal grandfather’s time in a forced labor camp during WWII, Api (April, 1949) is a reconstruction of his bid for agency during a time of oppression and destruction. Both an homage to his dreams and prayers and a critical interpretation of values and authority, this film is an interpretation of generational inheritance and reclamation.
