Watch the fourth episode of Talking Archives 2, our online interview series produced by Archive/Counter-Archive (A/CA) researchers Monika Kin Gagnon and Elina Lex, featuring conversations with filmmakers, archivists, and researchers who are part of the A/CA network. 

This episode features Marcel Beltrán in conversation with Monika. Marcel is a Cuban filmmaker working with analog and digital film processes. Based in São Paulo, Brazil since 2019, his work merges memory and life experience, bridging the poetic and political as well as the intimate and public. His films have been screened at festivals including Cannes, Locarno, IDFA, and MoMA Doc Fortnight.

In this episode, Marcel discusses his film Option Zero, which focuses on the struggles of Cuban migrants and their journey through Latin America to reach the US. The film utilizes footage captured by travelers on their cell phones as they move, highlighting a new form of media usage for transmission and protection; he highlights working with these alternative media archives, their varied footage quality and the extensive editing process. Ethical considerations in the film’s distribution are also discussed, including the decision to restrict its release to protect participants.

This interview was originally recorded on July 14, 2024 during the Global Audiovisual Archiving (GAVA) Conference at the TIFF Lightbox, Toronto.

Archive/Counter-Archive is dedicated to activating and remediating audiovisual archives created by Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis, Inuit), the Black community and People of Colour, womxn, LGBT2Q+ and immigrant communities. Political, resistant, and community-based, counter-archives disrupt conventional narratives and enrich our histories.

Video Editor: Elina Lex

Production assistance from: JP Marchand (CineMobilia) and Benjamin Dyment

For further information on Marcel’s work, see Mediocielo Films: https://www.youtube.com/@MediocieloFilms