Light Memories

In the family of photographer-turned-filmmaker Misha Vallejo no one ever talks about his grandfather. He only hears about him for the first time as an adult, thanks to an abandoned photo collection. Who was this shadow? And what legacy looms over the family? In his debut film Light Memories, Vallejo shows how the effects of neglect can persist across generations.

The slides that belonged to Vallejo’s grandfather mainly raise questions. Even his grandmother doesn’t recognize most of the people on them. To her children their father has always been a stranger. As the filmmaker talks to family members and digs through their silent past, the similarities with his own life start to become apparent. Although his parents would rather not discuss it.

Light Memories shows a fractured family on the one hand, with absent father figures. On the other hand, the caring that goes on among the family members gives hope. Vallejo’s visual language—featuring slide projections and an impressive volcano—creates a graceful bridge between old and new times.