“In ‘I Think This is the Closest to How the Footage Looked,’ director Yuval Hameiri takes us on a profoundly moving journey into the depths of memory, loss, and the power of art. Inspired by a personal experience, Hameiri explores the struggle to recapture a lost memory, to give shape to something that can never be seen.
The film opens with the haunting premise of a lost video, capturing the last day of the protagonist’s mother’s life. Erased before it could be watched, the footage becomes an imagined memory, a deep longing for something that never existed. Ten years later, the protagonist embarks on the creation of a short film, attempting to capture the essence of that lost footage.
As the story unfolds, we witness the protagonist using inanimate objects as proxies for the characters and settings in their imagined memory. The objects become vessels of remembrance, carrying a newfound meaning that transcends their initial purpose. Through this unique approach, Hameiri skillfully portrays the emotional landscape of memory and grief, inviting viewers to reflect on their own experiences of loss and the power of objects to preserve and evoke cherished memories.
The themes explored in ‘I Think This is the Closest to How the Footage Looked’ are universal and deeply resonant. It explores the human desire to preserve and reconstruct memories, even in the face of their inevitable fading. The film speaks to the indomitable nature of the human spirit, the capacity to find solace and create art out of the fragments of what is lost.
