Archive materials often carry the heritage of struggle against oppression, corruption and colonialism. In The Memory of Butterflies, Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski delivers an alternative reading of colonial history and rubber trade in Peru, in which her own family was involved, starting from a photograph of two indigenous boys taken to London as an experiment in early 20th century. In True North, Michèle Stephenson combines personal testimonies and previously unseen footage to explore a crucial chapter in the history of the Black liberation movement in Canada, culminating in a student occupation in Montreal in 1969. In December, Argentinian filmmaker Lucas Gallo creates a time capsule from December 2001, with footage chronicling spontaneous protests against financial machinations of the government. And in Do You Love Me, a loving journey into the audiovisual past of Lebanon and Beirut from 20,000 sources spanning 70 years, Lana Daher creates a personal history of her homeland. Walter Benjamin’s notion of “A tiger’s leap into the past” understands the present as a resonating body of the past, and perfectly captures the striking familiarity of these stories to what is happening today. 

Hosted by Sound & Vision

Moderator: Marta Popivoda (Director, Slet 1988)

Speakers: Lana Daher (Director, Do You Love Me), Lucas Gallo (Director, December), Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski (Director, The Memory of Butterflies), Michèle Stephenson (Director, True North)

Closed caption service for people who are deaf or hard of hearing is available for this session. Please ask our staff for QR codes to scan on your phone.