Souvenir of Absence

"Souvenir of Absence" is an experimental short film that meditates on the meanings of temporality through the interplay of appearance and disappearance—of images, voices, and memories.

The film opens with an evening prayer remembered by the director from her grandmother, layered over archival footage of a comet visible from Earth in 1997. These overlapping recollections introduce the film's central themes: memory, loss, and the passage of time.

Filming in her grandmother's cemetery in southern Turkey, Müdok weaves together shifting images of the present with archival footage captured by her father during the family's time in Germany. Multiple subtitles convey a polyphony of voices and times, contrasting with Müdok's own silent narrative.

Through this intimate and layered visual essay, Müdok asks: What does the camera provide—especially when it is tasked with registering absence?

Source: Maral Müdok