Photographic Memory

Invited

It may be inevitable that relationships between young adults and their parents will be turbulent. When your parent is filmmaker Ross McElwee and your life has unfolded in acclaimed films, perhaps that’s another matter altogether. Adrian, Ross’s son, is no longer the sensitive boy his father remembers. Now in his early twenties, Adrian’s activities center on the Internet, loud music, and other pastimes foreign to his father. In an effort to understand his son, Ross sets out to revisit his past—in the 1970s, much to the dismay of his own father, Ross was an assistant to an eccentric photographer in Saint-Quay-Portrieux in Brittany. Camera in hand, he returns to the idyllic town to track down his employer and friends. Snapshots, family movies, and vivid recollections pinpoint his efforts to reconnect with himself and, in the process, his son. The result is a poignant exploration of the many ways memory allows us to stay connected in spite of discord and distance.  ST

Director

Ross McElwee

Producers

Marie-Emmanuelle Hartness, Ross McElwee

Editor

Sabrina Zanella-Foresi

Cinematographer

Ross McElwee

Release Year

2011

Festival Year

2012

Country

United States, France

Run Time

84 minutes

Premiere

US Premiere