After his grandmother's death, Rafael, a Chilean filmmaker with a Jewish father and a Palestinian mother, discovers over forty Super 8 films. This discovery prompts him to embark on a journey from Chile to Israel and Palestine. What begins as an investigation into his paternal lineage soon expands to include his maternal side, marked by the absence of images. Working almost exclusively with Super 8, the film juxtaposes archival footage, temporalities, and testimonies to construct a narrative shaped by occupation, exile, and resistance.
Between Palestine and Chile; between mountains, valleys, and deserts, an encounter with a family archive unleashes a narrative that intertwines the political and the intimate as two inseparable currents of life. Through the lens of emotions, the film approaches a conflict that spans generations, confronting not only the horror but also the complexities of memory, identity, and belonging. With the sensitivity inherent in filmmaking, the director embarks on a shifting and critical journey that seeks not only to portray a conflict but also to explore the fissures in an inherited narrative and the difficulties of constructing one's own identity. Like a film diary that transforms as it unfolds, the film begins with an apparent pretext to ultimately delve into the symbolic roots of a displaced people. A gesture as necessary as it is refreshing.
Josefa Infante, FIDOCS 30 programmer
Rafael Guendelman is a visual artist and filmmaker. He holds a Master's degree in Situated Practice from University College London, a diploma in Contemporary Arab World Studies from the University of Chile, and a diploma in Film Theory from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He works with moving images, installations, and archival materials, exploring the relationships between memory, territory, and narrative. His work has been exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the National Museum of Fine Arts, the Palais de Tokyo, and the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in Palestine, among other venues. In 2026, he premiered his first feature film, 'Az Zeeb,' at FIDMarseille.