REMNANTS

De Guzman, N.P. (2014). Remnants Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.

Remnants is an experimental study on film that attempts to show how memories influence one’s perspective of things. What occupies one’s mind – memories good or bad – will shape how one sees the present. A person filled with positive memories will see the beauty in things, while one burdened by memories dealing with hurt and frustration will tend to view the world in the opposite way.

The film is presented as a video installation consisting of three panels. The two peripheral panels show multiple home videos of a family as remnants of their memories, depicting certain events in the lives of the different family members captured by the family’s video camera. The center panel shows a suggested present time as seen through the characters’ eye – in this case, the viewer’s own.

It attempts to let the viewer experience an augmented reality, as both a suggested flurry of memories and the present are seen simultaneously.

The concept also tackles the issue of forgiveness among the family members, who have grown up with an imperfect father. It presents how the family, shortcomings and all, need not be broken by the past, if the members choose forgiveness to bridge the gaps.