Objects And Memory

PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE! NOVEMBER 11, 2009, Wednesday
RSVP by Monday, November 9

During traumatic events, the normal flow of day-to-day life is disrupted in an instant. In the aftermath of sudden upheaval and incomprehensible loss, people seek a bridge between the irreplaceable past and a hopeful future. The documentary film “Objects and Memory” examines the innate drive to maintain connection and continuity by preserving the past and speaking to the future.

The project emerged from the New York-based filmmakers’ personal need to understand human responses to the 9/11 tragedy and evolved into a documentary film and related educational initiative. Never before had so many historically significant items been produced so suddenly, and curators were faced with the struggle of anticipating what future generations would consider valuable. At the same time, people from all walks of life felt compelled to preserve resonant objects or bring offerings to sites of remembrance.

Narrated by Frank Langella and with music by Philip Glass, “Objects and Memory” traces the actions and motivations of these people and relates stories of the objects’ symbolic transformation. Along A/P/A Institute’s archive and collections initiatives, the film touches on the importance of and issues surrounding collecting the present for the future.

A Q&A will follow the screening with filmmaker Jonathan Fein; Dr. Shireen Patell, Associate Director of Trauma and Violence Transdisciplinary Studies ;and Dr. Jack (John Kuo Wei) Tchen, Founding Director of A/P/A Institute at NYU.

Co-sponsored by: NYU’s Trauma and Violence Transdisciplinary Studies; Department of Media, Culture and Communications; the NYU Center for Media, Culture and History/Center for Religion and Media.