Synopsis

Conceived in response to the atmosphere of uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to take advantage of the growing ubiquity of the video essay form, the Asian Film Archive asked ten filmmakers to reflect on the moving image in the context of their region. Drawing upon histories and archives that are both personal and regional, these works reveal new vistas of inquiry-ruminations that evince the essayists' personal connections to cinema-made more poignant by the fact that they were created during various states of isolation and solitude. The films are divided into two sections: Motifs casts a critical gaze on symbols, systems, and the apparatus of power; Moments deals with the subjective, the ephemeral, and the plasticity of memories.