Content warning: The film in this review contains material that may be triggering. Viewer discretion advised.
There is always a way to rearrange memories. It is a way to sort out past recollections, which are often forced to be buried because of pain and trauma. But every memory has its own way of coming back. They will always appear when we search for them in sincerity, honesty, and with an open heart.
We will find a dark empty space at the beginning of the documentary All my Scars Vanish in the Wind (Angélica Restrepo, Carlos Valendia, 2022). The same darkness we would find when we close our eyes. Subsequently, specks of dust appeared slowly, flying through the room to fill the space. Those dust in yellow, white, green, and brown slowly morph into objects from a memory reconstruction.
All my Scars Vanish in the Wind (2022) is an experimental documentary cultivating a recollection of suffering into animation in many shapes of artistic digital cartography. No voice reads the narration throughout the entire documentary. There are only monologue texts accompanying specks of dust that change shapes. That monologue is a subjective narration from Restrepo’s point of view.
The 14-minute long documentary attempted to reconstruct Restrepo’s agonizing memory. A childhood filled with trauma from various sources, especially her parents. Her mother’s unfair treatment when she received abuse from her brother, her experience of working on her grandmother’s farm, and her attempt to flee from her misery made her distance herself from the memory that vanished in the wind.
Nevertheless, no matter how far she tries to leave it behind, her memory often reappears and disturbs her. Whispers of the past and the trauma swept away by the wind can also be brought back by the wind. The choice is, will we pretend to be oblivious and leave them swept away, or will we accept them as a part of us with an open heart?
Find other shapes of Restrepo’s memory dust in All my Scars in the Wind (2022) that is selected in Spektrum Festival Film Dokumenter 2023. (Ahmad Radhitya Alam) (Vanis/Catharina Maida M)
Film Details
All my Scars Vanish in the Wind (Todas mis cicatrices se desvanecen en el viento)
Angélica Restrepo, Carlos Velandia | 14 Min | 2022 | Colombia | Color | 17+
Screening Schedule
12.07 | Gedung ex Bioskop Permata | 15.00 WIB
12.08 | Auditorium IFI-LIP | 13.00 WIB
