Light Memories

Light Memories

Light Memories

2024, Ecuador, Germany, 80, Misha Vallejo Prut

Synopsis

Award-winning photographer Misha Vallejo goes on a deeply personal journey, using his late grandfather’s camera to recreate a lost family album. This search bridges a gap to a man he never met while confronting the absence of family photographs and the stories they might have told. Through intimate moments with his grandmother, Misha delves into themes of paternal absence, racism, and social discrimination, uncovering hidden family secrets and reclaiming spaces once denied to his loved ones. His lens captures both the pain of violence and the fluidity of memory, offering hope for connection and healing. Light Memories is a meditation on the power of photography, the resilience of family, and the possibility of reclaiming what was once lost.

WP: IDFA 2024 International Competition, True/False Film Fest 2025, San Diego Latino Film Festival 2025, 🏆CINELATINO- Recontres de Toulouse - SIGNIS Award for Feature-Length Documentary and The Documentary Audience Award, 🏆Pordenone Docs Fest - Jury Prize, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, 🏆Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara 2025 - Best Direction in an Ibero-American Documentary Feature, Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival 2025 - International Full Length Competition, Festival Internacional de Cine y TV de Cartagena FICCI 2025, Full Frame 2025, DocAviv 2025, Cine Ceará 2025, Docu.Text Film Festival 2025, FIDBA (Documentary Film Festival of Iberoamerica) 2025, Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano 2025, Sharjah Film Platform 2025, 🏆Film Festival (C2F2) 2025 - Jury Specail Award Category: Films on Cultural Taboos, 🏆Karama Human Rights Film Festival 2025 - The Karama Feather Award Nomination for Best Feature Documentary