- Donald Davis is a professional storyteller from North Carolina whose craft and career are built on the art of remembering. Davis acts as a guide to the importance of sharing the memories of our lives. Laura Simms is a Jewish storyteller searching for her own family story. We join her as she travels to Romania on a quest for her roots and witness as she finds an unexpected connection with a stranger. Linda Jensen suffered brain damage and is now grappling with the daily devastation of short-term memory loss. She can access her past, but knowledge of things that happened yesterday often eludes her. We spend time with her at home where the extent of her loss becomes clear. Neurologist and author Dr. Oliver Sacks transports us back to WW II in London during the Blitz and examines his own memories of that time - some are authentic and other are imagined. A granddaughter explores personal memories that come from stories she was told by her grandmother rather than what she experienced.—Dempsey Rice
- Visually, FORGET ME NOTS has the quality of a dream, weaving together impressionistic images shot on Super 8 film and slow motion video with cinema verité, archival footage and interviews. This combination of styles helps us to directly experience both the ephemeral and the concrete aspects of memory. The films narrative does not focus on one individual but relies on the collective memories of several people. Donald Davis is a professional storyteller from North Carolina whose craft and career are built on the art of remembering. Davis acts as a guide to the importance of sharing the memories of our lives. Laura Simms is a Jewish storyteller searching for her own family story. We join her as she travels to Romania on a quest for her roots and witness as she finds an unexpected connection with a stranger. Linda Jensen suffered brain damage and is now grappling with the daily devastation of short-term memory loss. She can access her past, but knowledge of things that happened yesterday often eludes her. We spend time with her at home where the extent of her loss becomes clear. Neurologist and author Dr. Oliver Sacks transports us back to WW II in London during the Blitz and examines his own memories of that time some are authentic and other are imagined. A granddaughter explores personal memories that come from stories she was told by her grandmother rather than what she experienced. In addition, FORGET ME NOTS incorporates the insight of psychologist and memory researcher Dr. Daniel Schacter.
FORGET ME NOTS starts with a montage of evocative images and Donald Davis voice: Who are we? We are the pile of stories we can tell about the people we have known, the things we did together, the places we lived Memories of the past are framed with blurred edges through which we see illustrations of individual memories. One such memory describes a swim team practice in the 1920s. A young woman went to the indoor pool one evening. The gym was dark, but she made her way to the end of the diving board. Images of a womans legs bouncing up and down on the board appear along with sounds of a diving board echoing. As she was preparing to dive, the lights came on. The young woman looked down to find the pool empty and a chilling image of lane lines comes on screen.
Throughout the film, visual mnemonics (a woman applying lipstick, ocean waves cycling, carnival rides, images of a lake) come and go as interstitial moments that work to evoke personal memories and stories in the minds of the audience so that internal connections are made and audience members begin to reflect on their own memories and stories. Connections are also made on screen: Laura Simms and Linda Jensen overcome their own disconnection and forge ahead Simms doesnt find her family story in Romania, but finds a family who accepts her as one of their own. Jensen is still present despite her memory loss: she bakes cookies, loves her family and reflects on her life before and after memory loss. Both of these women continue to discover and create the stories of their lives. Donald Davis, Oliver Sacks and other FORGET ME NOTS participants explore the strong connection they have to their past and to other individuals through their memory. They illustrate the power of a conscious connection to ones life stories. Through them, FORGET ME NOTS encourages self-reflection, sharing, time traveling (visiting the past in our memories), and leaving a legacy that includes the life stories and memories that define who we are. When story legacy is strong, life can continue beyond our actual years -- future generations can know us, understand us, and learn from us.
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