Nearly 50 years after Chris Marker’s landmark 1961 documentary about Israel, Description of a Struggle, Dan Geva’s film engages with and pays tribute to its progenitor. Clearly Marker’s film left a lasting impression on the Israeli-born Geva, who uses images from the original film as a springboard to uncovering the many changes that have taken place in the physical and political landscapes of Israel and in its inhabitants. Attempting to answer questions originally raised by Marker, Geva tracks down some of the people featured in Marker’s film (what did happen to that young girl at the easel?), with surprising and emotionally complex results. Description of a Memory is an intimate portrait of the nature of change in a multifaceted land where history and memories intertwine to create an odyssey both personal and universal.

—Joshua Moore

Presented with Description of a Struggle

Co-presented by Pacific Film Archive and San Francisco Cinenmatheque