Reminiscences

Reminiscencias is a 2010 Peruvian experimental documentary film written, produced, and directed by Juan Daniel Fernández Molero. Background Juan Daniel F. Molero recovered from a bout of amnesia incurred as a result of a sandboarding accident by reviewing home video footage shot by himself, his father, and his grandfather in various formats. He subsequently took the old and new footage and created a feature film of the events, with one-third of the final film recorded just after the accident. Using a "chaotic" editing technique which combined footage from SVHS-C, MiniDV tapes, cellphone videos and an 8mm home movie archive, the 84-minute film simulates the amnesia and recovery by Molero in 2009. Synopsis Reminiscencias deals with the creation and loss of memory and identity though an autobiographic exploration based on the filmmaker's own 2009 instance of amnesia. Molero had to use home movies shot by his father and grandfather, as well as digital footage shot by himself and video clips from his cell phone to determine his own past and find his identity. Reception Indiewire observed that while "many avant-garde films feel derivative", Molero's was an original, in that its "combination of abstractions and concrete reality--achingly gorgeous and poignant--is unique." They also offered that the film was a "singular observation of life in Peru", shown through its interviews of indigenous Peruvian people, the filmmaker's "observations of life in urban Lima", and his offering of Peru's natural settings.