Can an archive tell your story? During the Cold War, the Lodz Film School in Poland opened its doors to young people from the Global South. The films these students made are preserved in the archive. Sylwia Achu, the daughter of a Polish mother and Nigerian father, finds traces of her identity there, in the footage of other people’s lives from a different time.
Many people with a bicultural background go in search of their roots in the country their ancestors came from, but in MIX this is merely a footnote—a few fragments of social media reels document a trip to Nigeria. The rest of this student film consists of an impressive, associative collage of archival footage, while Sylwia’s voice recalls memories of her childhood.
More than a search for roots, this is an exploration of being uprooted and taking root again. Beginning with a silhouette and ending with Sylwia’s face looking directly into the camera, a kaleidoscopic portrait takes shape from this collection of fragments.
Stills
