Memory

Memory works very much like montage. One recollection resonates with another, which awakens yet another, and so on, thus establishing thematic series which give ever-increasing structure to the entire process (of remembering) until it becomes inscribed into the consciousness. This is perfectly illustrated by MEMORY, as Vladena Sandu’s autobiographical film unfolds by way of discontinuous associations in which parallel, interrelated motifs are repeated, eventually coming together to form the symbolic matter of the filmmaker’s own life. This entails revisiting childhood without betraying it. The end of the Soviet Union and the first war between Chechnya and Russia are not merely historical events here, but occurrences etched into the intimate life of a child who observes, learns and wonders why the figure of Lenin is ubiquitous, how a country can cease to exist from one day to the next and why another version of history suddenly begins to be taught at school. The film contains characters rendered perversely indelible by how they embody the terror of an era, such as the filmmaker’s grandfather, who she calls by his name; and yet there are also moments of great joy, such as when she discovers cinema. (Roger Koza)

In the presence of Vladlena Sandu.

Vladlena Sandu: DIYANA (2012, K), ORLOVS (2013, K), KIRA (2015, K), HOLY GOD (2016, K), EIGHT IMAGES FROM THE LIFE OF NASTYA SOKOLOVA (2018, K), NO NATION WITHOUT CULTURE (2022, K)