Gavati Wad

India, my nation, is being rebuilt. Her foundation is being laid on the imagined land that claims to be the birthplace of my grandmother's God. In the mythology that she passed down to me during many summer nights, her God was magical, kind, imaginative and democratic, just like my India was supposed to be. But today, through its many retellings and reimaginings, the tale is being used as a political tool to manifest the violent desire of a Hindutva state. This film attempts to remember, as well as dream, a forgotten nation.

In the aftermath of a global pandemic, this 16mm film examines science, politics, spirituality, and superstition in India as it pieces together a puzzle of unresolved questions through conversations about grief, loss, and absurd events, real and imagined.

Our memories make up the foundation of who we are, but they are constantly changing. Like a living organism with its own personality, memory can be loyal and reliable, sneaky and surprising, or capricious and cruel. Shot primarily in 16mm film, this creature called Memory is made from museum objects, neuroscience data, and the filmmakers’ personal memories.