Сurators: Filma collective
Text: geo
Illustration: Ivanna Prokopchuk

«Feminist work is often a memory work», feminist theorist and researcher Sara Ahmed writes. Although she primarily refers to memory held in the body, her statement can undoubtedly be applied in a broader context as well. Feminist theory and activism have helped us understand how systems of oppression and power hierarchies are structured and maintained (e.g., patriarchy, capitalism, colonialism, etc). They have also illuminated how marginalized groups—women, people of color, queer and transgender people, people with disabilities, non-human lifeforms—are subjected to epistemic injustice. It occurs when the knowledge, experiences, histories, and memories of oppressed communities, groups, and living organisms are erased and silenced. Consequently, a crucial part of our fight against oppressive systems lies in preserving, nurturing, and amplifying memories that resist dominant power regimes and official discourses. These are what Michel Foucault called “counter-memories.”

The five films we chose for this year’s open-call festival program inspired us to reflect on the concept of counter-memories. Each one intertwines distinct types of memory: personal and collective, human and natural, memories of joyful times and those of violence, oppression, and war.

Trans Kashmir by Surbhi Dewan and S.A. Hanan tells a story of trans*women of Kashmir, and their unique culture and traditions, preserved despite repressive British colonial rule. The main protagonists—Reshma, Nissar, Babloo, and Shabnum—are activists and leaders within their community. They challenge both conservative governmental policies and Western-centric norms of trans identities.

Delfina Carlota Vazquez’s Can a mountain recall also delves into themes of colonial violence and the memory of oppressed communities. The film’s unique protagonist—the active volcano Popocatépetl—witnesses the genocide of Mexico’s Indigenous peoples, the exploitation of the region’s natural resources, and the rise and activism of the Zapatista movement.

In Amarandos, Iokasti Mantzog preserves the memory of her grandmother’s last years, which were marked by Alzheimer’s. The artist fills their work with fragile memories, dances, and songs once performed in the warmth of family gatherings. Love, tenderness, and care weave through the narrative, overcoming the pull of forgetting—and perhaps even death itself.

Karolina Uskakovich tells the story of another grandmother in her film Boots on the Ground, Hands in the Soil. In the course of friendly conversations over a bowl of borsch or online, Karolina and Zoya discuss ecological issues, gardening, and everyday life during a full-scale war, and share critiques of capitalism and soviet totalitarianism.

Kumjana Novakova’s forensic essay Silence of Reason revives the stories of women who endured torture, enslavement, and sexual violence in a camp near the town of Foča during the Bosnian War (1992–1995) in collective memory. In her work, the researcher highlights the unbreakable connection between militarism/war and sexual violence, as well as the extent to which the memory of these war crimes remains suppressed and taboo.

Each film in the program breaks silence, challenges social stigmas and dominant narratives, and restores erased histories, reaffirming the sometimes forgotten activist slogan: "To remember is to fight!"