July 13, 2023
FILM: MINI DV
DIRECTED BY: Shauly Melamed
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
My mother spent most of her adult life documenting the lives of my siblings and I (which I in turn further documented in my film Harriet & Her Husbands.) Later I picked up that baton but not before there were already hours of home video footage showcasing all of us in our formative years. The new film Mini DV from Israeli director Shauly Melamed explores the phenomenon of recording oneself during those years and viewing them much later to help uncover and reconcile who we once were with who we are now.
Melamed shot many home videos during his childhood which filled him with a lot of inner strife upon seeing them again as an adult. In the aftermath of his father’s death, he became aware of how his homosexuality was a part of these early films without him realizing it at the time. Mini DV explores his attempts to find out more about himself and to locate other LGBTQ adults who also recorded themselves when they were young. Searching for those films and tapes becomes a quest of its own. Eventually Melamed builds a community of adults who agree to view their films for, in some cases, the first time in years.
The collection of people Melamed documents includes Tom, a transgender adult, who grew up in an Ultra-Orthodox community. Betty was born to Iranian immigrants and, as an adolescent, filmed her various close relationships with other women. Shauly, talks to the male friends with whom he shot his videos and asks them if they felt he was gay at the time. Their responses are somewhat surprising.
It’s great that so many individuals were interested in being part of this project. One can only imagine how many others are out there that have similar films, tapes, and digital files only waiting to be discovered. Jonathan Caouette made a classic film, Tarnation, using Apple’s basic IMovie editing software twenty years ago. The footage he shot revealed family abuse and mental illness. It’s a stunning and often disturbing achievement. Films such as this can be made by any of us who have that material gathering dust or sitting on a hard drive. But, one has to be ready to view it and appreciate what they find. It’s not always easy to stare at one’s past in the face but it can lead to a great journey of self-discovery.
Mini DV is a film which shows how these brave members of marginalized communities confront their pasts and find the seeds of who they are now as adults. It’s an enlightening experience and will no doubt inspire viewers to uncover their own childhood personas, secrets, and early desires when looking at their home videos.
Mini DV is playing as part of the Pride Film Fest and can be streamed online until July 23rd. Go to Pridefilm.org for more information.
FILM: MINI DV
DIRECTED BY: Shauly Melamed
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
My mother spent most of her adult life documenting the lives of my siblings and I (which I in turn further documented in my film Harriet & Her Husbands.) Later I picked up that baton but not before there were already hours of home video footage showcasing all of us in our formative years. The new film Mini DV from Israeli director Shauly Melamed explores the phenomenon of recording oneself during those years and viewing them much later to help uncover and reconcile who we once were with who we are now.
Melamed shot many home videos during his childhood which filled him with a lot of inner strife upon seeing them again as an adult. In the aftermath of his father’s death, he became aware of how his homosexuality was a part of these early films without him realizing it at the time. Mini DV explores his attempts to find out more about himself and to locate other LGBTQ adults who also recorded themselves when they were young. Searching for those films and tapes becomes a quest of its own. Eventually Melamed builds a community of adults who agree to view their films for, in some cases, the first time in years.
The collection of people Melamed documents includes Tom, a transgender adult, who grew up in an Ultra-Orthodox community. Betty was born to Iranian immigrants and, as an adolescent, filmed her various close relationships with other women. Shauly, talks to the male friends with whom he shot his videos and asks them if they felt he was gay at the time. Their responses are somewhat surprising.
It’s great that so many individuals were interested in being part of this project. One can only imagine how many others are out there that have similar films, tapes, and digital files only waiting to be discovered. Jonathan Caouette made a classic film, Tarnation, using Apple’s basic IMovie editing software twenty years ago. The footage he shot revealed family abuse and mental illness. It’s a stunning and often disturbing achievement. Films such as this can be made by any of us who have that material gathering dust or sitting on a hard drive. But, one has to be ready to view it and appreciate what they find. It’s not always easy to stare at one’s past in the face but it can lead to a great journey of self-discovery.
Mini DV is a film which shows how these brave members of marginalized communities confront their pasts and find the seeds of who they are now as adults. It’s an enlightening experience and will no doubt inspire viewers to uncover their own childhood personas, secrets, and early desires when looking at their home videos.
Mini DV is playing as part of the Pride Film Fest and can be streamed online until July 23rd. Go to Pridefilm.org for more information.