>> Catalog 2023

Raise Me a Memory

Läinud on jäänud

---

ESTONIA / 2023 / Estonian, Seto, Hindi, English / Color / Digital File / 70 min

Director, Script, Editing: Varun Trikha
Photography: Varun Trikha, Heiko Sikka
Producer: Karin Reinberg
Source, World Sales: Revolver Film

A village on the Estonian border. An Indian filmmaker visiting loses his way and meets local people. An elderly woman dreams of her toddler, who lost his life when he rushed out onto the railroad tracks. Another woman says the pain in her foot subsided after dreaming of her late father. And a man, Evar, talks about a mysterious dream he had about his grandfather, who was a refugee. The dead appear in the dreams of the living and leave behind experiences that only the dreamers can understand, and when the director learns of his grandfather’s past, he identifies with Evar. Notebooks, letters, abandoned houses, trains, and dreams left behind become a medium of memory, alluding to the history of hardships that have been experienced at the border, and depicting human karma that transcends time. (MA)

---

[Director’s Statement] Making this film has been somewhat like building a boat to connect a past with a present. While memories lay a sturdy hull for such a boat, hope must grasp the wild winds of history firmly as its mainsail. Oars made of dreams must stir the mysterious waters of consciousness. This boat is to be sailed not only to connect two different points of time but also to stand in the midst of them, in the middle of these endless waters, to behold where we were, where we are and where we are led.