First-person Encounters with Family Histories: Autobiographical Narratives about Historical Trauma in Recent Documentary Cinema in Baltic Countries

• In Event: Space, Place, and Mediated Memory in Baltic and East European Cinema

Abstract

Autobiography, as a retrospective narrative authored by a real individual concerning its own existence, in its literary form primarily focuses on the exploration of one’s personal life. Extending beyond literature into visual arts and performance, the autobiographical has found a strong expression in documentary filmmaking. These autobiographical narratives are conveyed through a diverse mix of audiovisual materials from both private and public archives, as well as with documentary animation techniques.
The paper will focus on the films from the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), where personal memories of the filmmakers and their relatives form the foundation of the narrative about the deportations in the 1940s and Soviet occupation. The filmmakers attain the role of postmemory narrators (employing Marianne Hirsch’s term), as they belong to a generation that did not directly experience the historical events depicted but is nonetheless profoundly affected by them. I argue that the traumatic historical events of the 20th century in the Baltic countries hold particular significance for these filmmakers, and that their films contribute to the broader body of work narrating the historical traumas of the region.

Author

• Zane Balcus, Vilnius U (Lithuania)