An in-depth dialogue with editor and filmmaker Mary Stephen, whose transnational career exemplifies the intersections of art, history, and memory in cinema. Born in Hong Kong and trained in Canada before establishing herself in Paris, Stephen became a vital collaborator of Éric Rohmer, helping to shape the rhythm and sensibility of his later films. Beyond this legacy, she has worked with a wide range of directors across Europe and Asia, bringing her distinctive editorial voice to fiction and documentaries alike. As a filmmaker in her own right, Stephen crafts works that move between personal memory and collective histories, exploring cultural identity, colonial legacies, and the poetic textures of everyday life. Her practice foregrounds the politics and aesthetics of editing, showing how cinema itself can function in both meditation and inquiry.
 
This conversation is moderated by film critic, lecturer, and writer Dana Linssen. 

This Filmmaker Talk accompanies a screening of Palimpsest: The Story of a Name. For tickets to the film screening: https://festival.idfa.nl/en/film/f758485d-3d39-481b-b87b-8ddfbcf90991/palimpsest:-the-story-of-a-name/
 
Photo: John Cressey