Life is a Memory in Don't You Have Docs?

It’s fascinating the way documentary film, as a means to document, express and dream about the future, has impacted peoples and communities since the birth of the film. Visual and audio documentation of shared histories, alongside personal accounts and creatively represented fragments of our lives have made their way on to the big screen and have become part of our collective memory. Starting with Dziga Vertov’s Kino Pravda (literally meaning Truth Films), through to City Films (as seen in last month’s program), and finally finishing with great examples of political films, nostalgic representation, and reflective storytelling of historic events; documentary has become an essential part of how we remember ourselves, our lives and our world.

Starting with Dziga Vertov’s Kino Pravda (literally meaning Truth Films), through to City Films (as seen in last month’s program), and finally finishing with great examples of political films, nostalgic representation, and reflective storytelling of historic events; documentary has become an essential part of how we remember ourselves, our lives and our world.

(Night and Fog by Alain Resnais, 1955)

Although documentary is no longer seen by audiences as an objective or truthful documentation of the world, it has nonetheless, the power to represent our past to those who will come after us. Regardless of how successful a film has been is showing the reality of a context, it still remains as a representation that has an enormous impact on the creation of our personal, social and political histories.

(A Bronx Morning, 1931)

This is why this month’s screening of Don’t You Have Docs? focuses on the theme, Life is a Memory. Through short films that look at either personal and/or collective memories, we get the chance to reflect upon the creation of our sense of self through what we remember, as well as what we imagine we will pass on to future generations. Whether it’s an intimate telling of memories, such as in Felicity Gets Ejected from Egypt and Ralph & the Cat, or heavily constructed impressions of people and places in 39-A: EEN REISVERHAAL VAN EINDELOOS and In Case I Disappear, memories keep shaping and reshaping our impressions of the world.

Felicity Gets Ejected from Egypt

Stories from My Father and I know You, look at the ways in which memories affect our relationships with other people, specifically those whom we seek to remember. And finally, Black Out is a short but highly evocative visual documentation of the Egyptian protests that took place only a few months ago. A visual documentation that has already become part of a shared history, both to those involved in it, and those who watched it happen through television sets. 

39-A: EEN REISVERHAAL VAN EINDELOOS

It is our memory of people and places that make us cherish, loathe or embrace our experiences of the world around us. And in this month’s screening of Don’t You Have Docs? we look at some of the most interesting and memory making documentaries around. This program is available now on our Don't You Have Docs? Mubi Garage channel and will also screen at Loop Bar in Melbourne on the 18th of April, 7pm.