Experimental Documentary, HD, 12:55 mins, 2020
Director / Writer / Producer
[ES] Desarchivar
- Programmers and curators, please email for a preview link
- Disponible con subtítulos en español
- Disponible avec sous-titres en français
Unarchive is a sister film to What Comes Between (2009) and The Space Shuttle Challenger (2017)
SYNOPSIS
EN – Unarchive juxtaposes the filmmaker’s father’s life with the political history of Chile – his birthplace – over the past century. It reflects on how we remember and how we forget, and the role of the camera in transcending the complex space in between.
ES – Unarchive (Desarchivar) yuxtapone la vida del padre de la cineasta con la historia política de Chile – lugar de su nacimiento – durante el siglo pasado. Reflexiona sobre cómo recordamos y cómo olvidamos, y el papel de la cámara en trascender el lugar complejo entremedio.
FR – Unarchive (Désarchiver) juxtapose la vie du père de la cinéaste avec l’histoire politique du Chili – son lieu de naissance – au cours du siècle dernier. Une réflexion sur la façon dont nous nous souvenons et dont nous oublions, et sur le rôle de la caméra pour transcender la complexité de l’espace intermédiaire.
AWARDS
- Barry Lank Memorial Award for social justice film, DOC Manitoba (Winnipeg, Manitoba) – 2023
- Special Jury Mention, International Documentary Section, Shorts México (Mexico City, Mexico) – 2021
- Honourable Mention, Expanded Shorts Section, this human world: International Human Rights Festival (Vienna, Austria) – 2020
Slowly the film gropes its way through. Contradictions gradually emerge through the protagonist’s memory. The director documents how realities shift; even photographs can no longer be an aid to memory. When a very central activity in life suddenly no longer plays a role, due to dementia, what remains? The film eliminates this flaw. The filmmaker interviews her 84-year-old father and also questions history – both that of the state of Chile and photography, and of her own family. The honourable mention in the expanded shorts category goes to the film Unarchive.
– this human world: Human Rights Film Festival, Vienna, Austria, 2020
FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
- RIDM: Montreal International Documentary Festival (Montreal, Canada) – 2020
- Antimatter (Victoria, Canada) – 2020
- this human world: International Human Rights Festival (Vienna, Austria) – 2020
- Intermediaciones (Medellín, Colombia) – 2020
- Dawson City International Short Film Festival (Dawson City, Canada) – 2021
- CineFestival (San Antonio, USA) – 2021
- Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (Vancouver, Canada) – 2021
- Shorts México (Mexico City, Mexico), 2021
- Dobra International Experimental Film Festival (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – 2021
- RPM / Revolutions Per Minute Festival (Boston, USA) – 2021
- FIVA 10, Festival Internacional de Videoarte (Buenos Aires, Argentina) – 2021
- Lebu International Film Festival (Lebu, Chile) – 2022
- Big Muddy Film Festival (Carbondale, USA) – 2022
- Seattle Latino Film Festival (Seattle, USA) – 2022
- Uppsala Short Film Festival (Uppsala, Sweden) – 2022
- BogoShorts (Bogotá, Colombia) – 2022
- FLIGHT / Mostra Mostra internazionale del cinema di Genova (Genoa, Italy), 2023
CURATED SCREENINGS
- Canada Looks South, curated by Christian Sida, presented by BogoShorts (Bogotá, Colombia) – 2022
- The People’s Revolt: Rewriting the Future, curated by Anto Astudillo, presented by the Uppsala Short Film Festival (Uppsala, Sweden) – 2022
- Canada Looks South, curated by Christian Sida, presented by Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (Vancouver, Canada) – 2022
- The People’s Revolt: A New Constitution, curated by Anto Astudillo, presented by the Millennium Film Workshop (Brooklyn, USA) – 2022
CREDITS
- Writer, Director, Producer: Cecilia Araneda
- Edit: Cecilia Araneda, Chad Tremblay
- Camera: Cecilia Araneda
- Archival Footage: Eliecer Araneda, Jorge Müller + unknown cinematographers and photographers
- Technical Support: Carolina Araneda, The Labworks Winnipeg
Stills
- Unarchive – Double Exposure [jpg]
- Unarchive – In Field [jpg]
Unarchive was produced with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts
