Expanded Shorts: Echoes of the Past

In the course of a cinematic reflection on narrative structures of the past, the selected films unfold a kaleidoscope of historical discourses and their implications for the present. The narratives invite us to engage with the complex dynamics of memory, identity and collective belonging. They take a thoughtful look at the significance of memories for individual and collective consciousness and create space for personal and social debate. The films shed light on the nuances of migration and the memory of lost utopias (City of Poets) and focus on silent witnesses to harsh realities of life (Worker's Wings). In a Finnish city, the legacy of a Soviet monument is reassessed (Forgetting Lenin), while a penetrating examination of cultural ruptures in Yugoslavia provides a profound reflection on tensions between individual memory and political narration (Some Memories). Through his personal archive, a soldier who didn't want to be one tells of flight and migration (Exit Through the Cuckoo's Nest). In five short films, innovative cinematic techniques bring the echoes of history to life, offer new approaches to archives or even function as one themselves.

Forgetting Lenin
Inka Achte, Einari Paakkanen
FI 2024, 6 min, OmeU

Exit Through the Cuckoo's Nest
Nikola Ilić
CH 2024, 19 min, OmeU

Workers' Wings
Ilir Hasanaj
XK 2024, 19 min, OmeU

Some Memories
Lotte Schreiber
AT 2024, 10 min, OmeU

City Of Poets
Sara Rajaei
NL 2024, 21 min, OmeU