A daughter’s exploration of her Finnish family’s history prompted by the letters, objects, and photographs left in her mother's apartment. Fragmented memories, dreams, and diary
entries are juxtaposed with the director’s journey to significant places and people in that history from during and after the Russo-Finnish wars, 1939 - 1944. Her mother, Lea, and her siblings were evacuated from the disputed border territory of Karelia.
Lea's father was killed in 1941, fighting alongside the Germans against the Soviets. His death in action is contrasts with the more indirect impact of the war and its aftermath on the destinies of the remaining family. In this hypnotic work of mourning and
remembrance, past and present, associations, memory and imagining intertwine, as the film charts the lingering traces of conflict and exile across generations.
Dir. Lizzie Thynne, UK, 2013, 56 minutes
The screening is part of the show Family Ties: Re-framing Memory which is running in the adjacent Peltz Gallery at Birkbeck, 43 Gordon Square, London until 25 July, 10 am - 7pm. Details attached.
Please note the exhibition will close at 6.30 on 25 July but will be open for a final viewing before then.
all good wishes
Lizzie